New to Geothermal technology

by **bigalec** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 7:33 am

I am totally new to Geothermal technology but I am looking to have it installed as a retrofit to my property. the property is by a lake that is not very deep approx on average 6/10 ft although there are areas of 30 ft but not close to the house.
also I live in canada but the freezing of the lake is at the most in a bad winter 2 foot
what I am keen to find out if there is any one who has has it installed for at least a year and what are your experience with it in cost saving / repairs, how hot can it raise the temperature to in winter and what else is needed to boost it to a comfortable temp and same in summer how cold could it get,a recommendation on reliable brand names used etc.
this system for me is a 4 ton and is approx $40,000 canadian as the property does not have a ducting system which will have to be retro fitted(at the moment it is heated by baseboard heaters)
needs advice of the pitfalls that could occur
thanks in advance for you experience
Alec

by **Mark Custis** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 9:07 am

You could use a water to water system. How far is it from the deep spot in the pond to the home?

by **bigalec** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 3:26 pm

Hi Mike the baseboards are electric
not sure what you mean a water to water system?
the deep part 10 foot in the lake is about 100 ft
thanks

by **AMI Contracting** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 6:42 am

Mark was thinking you had Hydronic base boards.
Geo should cut your electric heating bill by as much as 2/3s. Pond loops work but are not impervious to anchors and such.
Have your installer explain things like balance point and % covered by heat pump of heating load. Those numbers are the biggies and as long as the installer is reputable you can carefully monitor those things to gain confidence in your loops.
Installer positive references and items mentioned above will have more impact on your satisfaction than your loop concerns.
Good luck,
Joe

by **urthbuoy** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 9:15 am

Bigalec,

For small ponds, sometimes it is best to just trench in a horizontal closed loop system. But, a good designer can go over things like this with you.

Your geo will get it as hot as you want and as cold as you want (well livable temps that is).

I get to use metric now, as a fellow Canuck:-).

When it's -30C out your unit might not be able to keep the temp. at 20C inside as to design/install for this, we start putting in equipment that is unnecessary for the other 98% of the time. Thus, supplemental heat is in order. You already have electric baseboard, so you've got that covered. % design load, as mentioned, is what your system will be based on. In Canada, 70-100% of heating design load is the code. Your cooling loads will be approximately 50% of heating load - depends on construction, location, orientation, elevation, and so forth.

If you're out west I can put you on to a few homeowners who've lived with geothermal for a few years. They can give you some "un-biased" feedback.