Is Geothermal Heating & Cooling Worth It?

[@GabrielSBarbaraS]

As I got older and wiser, I found out the best way to improve efficiency was to move from our 5,700 sf home to our present 1700 sf home. Now we have a farm with horses, 3000 sf of external shop/ horse barn and a much more happy lifestyle from when what we had when we were chasing our tail . With solar, our electric bill is about 30 to 40 bucks per month with 2 stage air source heat pump. Electric bill with the older home was about $250 per month. Thanks for posting and good luck with your interesting builds Garrett.

[@Challenged1]

Good deal!!!

[@russhills2773]

Built a ground source heat pump in 1976 in Western Washington state. It performed well at one third cost of a Carrier heat pump next door. Dug down 4ft. 4 loops on 3 trenches for 3 ton unit. Used a r12 pump down system. Never lacked heating and cooling.

[@norwegiannationalist7678]

wait the existed back then?

[@rwhite9994]

My boss had a Rockwell heat exchanger from a building put in his home around that time. He has four 100 to 400' wells drilled. Beyond changing the motor out, it is still working. Nowhere

[@rwhite9994]

My 72 year old boss has a Rockwell heat exchanger installed around that time . it is not as efficient as today,s. But he used four wells, 100-400 ' deep. He has only changed a motor out in all that time. He could probably save more by getting a newer heat pump and getting rid of that old one. He refuses, says it is part of his history.

[@tomkelly8827]

Wow, thanks for the update! yeah as a carpenter, I keep thinking that we ought to install geothermal coils every time we backfill a basement. Same with septic systems, just bury some loops under the weeping bed and the tank. Also waterfront places don't need loops, just intake pipes going close to the bottom of the water body to get the naturally cool in summer and warmer in winter temps down there. I live in Canada so air source heat pumps need to be backed up because they stop working at -18 C when we need it the most!

[@pineychristian]

Great install. I'm am hvac tech. I always loved installing Geothermal. I would recommend a outdoor split geothermal system if possible. It keeps the noise outside and they are actually much quite than a all in one package geothermal system. No noise to worry about cause it's just a very low hum..

[@Challenged1]

I didn't realize they made split geo units. Thanks for sharing

[@ehombane]

@@Challenged1 Since you have a hot season and a cold one, and already got involved with digging and insulation, did you ever considered simply storing the heat. I mean in the summer heating an insulated portion of the ground with the help of solar vacuum tubes. And in the winter chill other similar storage. In this way you eliminate the expensive part that is compressor. But insulating the ground may be costly too. But that 100 saved monthly, and the fact that replacing some fans is way cheaper than replacing compressors.

[@larrybolhuis1049]

We have had Geothermal for 30 years, our WaterFurnace is in the basement and is as close to silent as possible. Literally the fan, which is variable speed and itself very quiet, makes more noise than the compressor. Unless you know what to listen for you cannot tell if the compressor is running, low or high speed, no difference. If you are not in the utility room it is effectively silent. You cannot here it in the bedroom, bathroom, or family room that abut the utility room. Also, having the entire thing inside the home means it stays dry and clean and easily maintained. I can't imagine putting half of this outside.

[@pineychristian]

@larrybolhuis1049 water furnace makes a great split Geo unit. You have it in your basement where I have seen people have package unit geo's like in the attic. Those units have the water going into them. When the there is a water issue like a pipe breaking or a leak it will flood your basement out or someone attic to the adjacent floors below. Your house must be built well because walls probably thick and good insulation. Ive been working on geo thermal for a long time and split geos are hands down much quieter.

[@pineychristian]

@larrybolhuis1049 plus they make split geo systems that use only a indoor coil which can be mounted on a natural gas furnace for heat. So you'll have a dual fuel system with heating/ cooling from geo thermal and when it gets too cold the geothermal turns off to use the gas furnace. Which in my neck of the woods is much cheaper than paying the electric company because geo's use back up electric heating strips which is like turning on an electric oven every time they come on....

[@not-fishing4730]

2004 I put in a well-type Geothermal in Folsom California. I designed and built my house as a simple carpenter's house. As a Carpenter I knew to go heavy on the insulation with 2x6 exterior walls and 2" rigid foam over that. The doors and windows are highly insulative as well as the clay tile roof. I put in 4 each 250 foot wells for a 2200 sf house. We had to rock drill but hit water at 85 feet. My electricity bill averages $150 per month without solar with high California electrical bills. My neighbors houses, which are 1,000 sf bigger, run $750 to $1,000 per month. If I had to do it over again I'd also use ICF exterior walls (I've done a large ICF project now) but would still keep the house simple and use the most insulative doors and windows in reason. Funny how most people don't understand that to really be Green you need to design you're house to Conserve, heat, energy and materials. In 18 years my repair bills have been $1,000 for an HVAC Tech to make two trips and replace one of my "pond pumps" that circulates the water.

[@Challenged1]

Thanks for sharing

[@jasonharrison25]

your in Folsom too? I'd love to see your setup if possible

[@Holler_Rat]

not-fishing Please make a video! We would love to see your system.

[@bobwarfel241]

I put in the original Geothermal heat pump in 1986 for our all electric house because we had no gas at our location. The cost was twice as much as a system that would use propane. The heat pump was very efficient, we had low electric bills for heating and cooling. After 10 years we needed a part to fix the Geothermal heat pump unit but the company went out of business. We had to buy another system and spent over $15,000, this lasted for around 15 years until the fluid in the loop ate out the inside of the unit. Then we had to replace the liquid in the loop and another unit which cost over $26,000. I will not use another Geothermal heat pump system again. In 30 years I spent over $48,000 on units, I did not get that back in savings. I am going with Mini-splits now.

[@LabRat6619]

Most are very complicated on the electronics and tend not use genetic parts. Things will always be cheaper on a ubiquitous gas boiler unit.

[@williamkreth]

I'm going to just do a diy water system way cheaper to build and repair

[@poptamara]

@@williamkreth Hello. Would you be kind to tell me what exactly do you mean by diy water system?

[@Jason-sp5yc]

But the tech has probably evolved in the nearly 4 decades since then, right? While your experience is unfortunate, installing in 1986 seems like your were an early adopter and your experience illustrates the ‘early adopter tax.’ Doesn’t seem necessarily applicable to a new install today.

[@williamkreth]

@@poptamara you simply dig a deep circular hole lay plastic tubing wrapping around a few times, have a pump move water through the underground pipe going to a radiator with a fan. You have to properly size the system for whatever space you have

[@tazman6235]

Please keep these updates coming. Your videos have inspired my family and my parents to sell our houses and do this ourselves. We have purchased land and just starting the steps to build our dream home. I'm using ICF and geothermal thanks greatly to you sharing your experience. These updates on anything you did allows me to make any adjustments based on things i might hear. I would like to hear more about the hot water tank being heated by geothermal. Keep up these great videos and perfect format.

[@Challenged1]

Here's a link to the desuperheater that I hooked up: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jYSnXnapgNWbirs

[@tazman6235]

@@Challenged1 thanks again! I had seen that in the past but must have forgotten. So your heart pump came with that feature built in. I will be looking for that. Who did all your manual J calculations and system design for the house? I'm needing to get that done at this time and my designer does not know anyone who can design for the ground source heat pump. My build is in SE AZ so AC is the main oporation needed so that free hot water would be abundant for me!

[@Challenged1]

@@tazman6235 Yes, mine came with it built in. I had a couple of HVAC guys helping me design in the beginning. We actually didn't do a manual J, just figured what a typical house would be and then reduced by 30% to accommodate for the ICF construction.

[@tazman6235]

@@Challenged1 where did you actually order all your geothermal hardware (ahu, condeners, lines, ect.) from? In having a manual j and manual d completed by this guy does not sell any equipment.

[@Challenged1]

@@tazman6235 Key Refrigeration in Wichita, KS.

[@thomasjeffersoncry]

I put my Geo thermal in 11 years ago. love it.

[@gadsdonflag4289]

My geothermal system in Western Oregon works great and it's over 20 years old. It's also connected to my hot water heater. I only have it serviced every other year.

[@kino_cinante]

Rockwool safe and sound would way better for sound deadening between floor joists.

[@KillerNetDog]

I did the same about ten years ago, I put it into an old leaky farmhouse on 11 acres, put about 2000' of loop under the pasture, and it's been great. If it hadn't I would have set iy up to use my well water from my current 450' well and and put the return over into the pond. The whole thing unit as well as installing it myself cost about $6,000. Only problem I've had with it is the condensation drain plugging up after 5-6 years which is common for all types of systems around here.

[@earlyriser8998]

about to build a new house on a farm with plenty of land...and we have been discussing your system as an option

[@volt8399]

Thank you for the 4 year update!

[@PaganWizard]

You can further your efforts to quiet the noise heard in your son's bedroom either by the use of spray foam insulation, or a much more DIY friendlier installation of some rock wool. Rock wool installs just as easy as the pink stuff, it's fire proof, there is no need to worry about fiberglass fibers, and there is the sound deadening aspect of it as well.

[@Bob-gy6ud]

Actually don’t do insulation as heat rises and you’ll loose bleed through heating. The BEST fix is found in music bars and it’s acoustic panels. These will absorb and redirect sound but not stop air flow. You don’t need to cover the area entirely (doing so actually lessens the effect) sound isn’t like hot/cold air, but more like a billiard ball. The idea is to bounce the sound waves around keeping them localized. Doubling up the drywall would work much better if a 2-4” gap from the floor and angled slightly. A simple test is use a generator outside. Make a make shift box out of sheet stock then use a decibel meter at various locations above where open then to sides. Then angle the sheet stock with different gaps and test again. Then remove 1 side total open and another side use an open pallet. You’d be surprised at the results of the 3 tests. Then to make things very interesting take the unused 4th sheet stock and seal up 1 side of the open pallet and take a reading

[@guywilliams3108]

Thank you for the update I watch the very first one. Plan on putting one in my little farm in Tennessee. I'm going to go for a very large field I have a greenhouse I want to cool and heat and a few other projects on the property that I want to use it for two.

[@dubCanuck1]

Glad I stumbled across your videos. I didn't have a lot of good info on geothermal, but now on my upcoming build (on an acreage, using hydronic in-floor heating), I'll definitely be planning a geothermal setup. And conveniently, my new build will be of similar size to yours, so your series has been just perfect for me. Thanks!

[@JohnLee-im7iu]

Soundproofing would help greatly.

[@bryanst.martin7134]

@ 4:55 Try a soft starter on the compressor unit. YT has videos on it.

[@serversurfer6169]

Regarding your farmhouse example, I still think a ground loop heat pump is the way to go. With "no" insulation, any system you install is gonna run continuously, so it may as well be as efficient as possible, and nothing that I'm aware of can beat ground loop. More efficient still would be a coat of spray foam in the cavities of the exterior walls though. That can be done after the tax credit though. 🤓👍

[@randomvideosn0where]

You'd want to insulate first to see what your need will be otherwise you're just guessing. And a well style may beat out ground loops because the groundwater moves taking that cold with it.

[@NotoriousPyro]

'With "no" insulation, any system you install is gonna run continuously' How do you work that out. If the desired temperature is reached and nothing more is needed, how is it going to run continuously?

[@serversurfer6169]

@@NotoriousPyro Unless the desired interior temperature matches the exterior temperature, the interior temperature will drift towards the exterior temperature. Insulation slows the drift, and the greater the drift, the more work required of the heat pump. The first step in making the inside nice is keeping the outside out. 🤓

[@jerrybennett6034]

For sound reduction this from Home Depot works wonders: 1/2 in. x 48 ft. x 8 ft. R-1.2 Sound Board Sound Barrier EPS Rigid Foam Board Insulation

[@farmer9180]

I have a ground source unit and love it. First unit ran for about 30 years no problems at all. Replaced it with a more efficient unit.

[@Challenged1]

Thanks for sharing!!!

[@juanitavaldez1907]

We too have a ground source system since 2006. In a 100 year old farm house. Very few problems. Need filters and a few parts now and then. Very comfortable in Illinois. The only down size is the humidity in the summer. This system does not remove moisture from the air. We have to run a dehumidifier in the summer. Still very cheap comfort.

[@TOBY-b3q]

What type of G.O.

[@chrismaxny4066]

We have a 1700sq ft home built in 1987 and had a geothermal system installed in September 2021. From Nov 21 to May 22 it cost an average of $175.57 per month. The system is closed loop with two wells each 288 ft deep and a 5 ton Geo Unit. We live in the Hudson Valley where temps can range from -5F to 95F depending on the season. In Jan and Feb we used about 100 gallons of heating oil each month with our old system. That would translate to about $350 - $500 depending on the price of oil in addition to the electric the furnace used. Our electric is about .23.5 per kwh. Love the Geothermal!

[@1D10CRACY]

Technology has come a long way for sure! We have a little bit bigger home and recently upgraded to a newer more efficient heat pump, albeit not as efficient as a geo thermal, its not bad. Northern Ohio weather and we pay $200ish but we also heat and cool an external garage. We are all electric including the backup heat, they run electric heat strips but only come on when the outside temps are below 12 degrees. Probably what saves us is we have fairly cheap electric in our area.

[@sranney1]

How much to install ?

[@chrismaxny4066]

@@sranney1 The system quote was $40,375.00 for a 5 ton system with two 288 ft deep wells for the loops. Credits were $1750.00 for using our own money, $9820.00 paid directly to Dandelion by Central Hudson (electric provider), and a $7489.00 Fed Tax Credit. We had to write a check for $28,805.00 and after the Fed Tax Credit the system cost came to $21,315.70. All amounts are in US Dollars. The system cost $895.00 to heat our house in Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb in the Hudson Valley NY. The oil furnace cost was $1700.00 for the same time period. So break even point depending on the price of heating oil would be about 12.54 years. The geothermal furnace will last about 25 years maybe more with proper maintenance. The loops will last about 100 years. We bought our oil furnace new in 2009 and in 2021 it started leaking oil. There were no replacement parts available to repair it . It was a Thermo Pride oil furnace that worked for 12 years with no problems. The oil storage tank was 34 years old so it to was due to be replaced. The combined quote for jury-rigging the oil furnace and replacing the oil tank was $5000.00. So we went with geothermal instead. Hope this answers your question!

[@user-jy1md7vk1w]

@@chrismaxny4066 this is an wonderfully detailed answer, thanks :)

[@tch632]

​@@chrismaxny4066: what do you mean when you say "wells"? Trenches?

[@robertfakler8564]

I wanted to install geothermal in my new house but couldn't because we only have less than 30" of topsoil above 10,000' of bedrock. And drilling one or more wells would be very expensive especially since we have very cheap power at less than .05/kwh. So I have 2 heat pumps, which I recently had to replace both compressors after 22 years of service. My electrical cost runs from $150 in the summer to over $500 in the winter, in a very large over 5,000 sqft house. We're in Central Wash State where the temp runs from zero in winter to over 100 in the summer.

[@Challenged1]

Thank you for sharing!!!

[@silentvoiceinthedark5665]

You need to get you some high power explosives and access that sweet spot in the bedrock. Go straight down with a spiral coil

[@pb7379-j2k]

For anyone reading this you can drill a vertical well into the rock. I had a 3 ton unit connected to a 500 foot well. The well cost 9k and included the loop and grout and pressure test

[@robertfakler8564]

@@pb7379-j2k That's a good price. $18/ft. Around here it was $25/ft 10 years ago, and it keeps getting more expensive. And that is just for the drilling, not the loop and grout. Our rock is basalt, which is harder than granite, which might be part of the reason for the cost.

[@pb7379-j2k]

@@robertfakler8564 maybe so. Mine was in CT which I believe was granite

[@hermanvogel1310]

Next Step: Geothermal Water Well Using burried plastic sewer pipes and an air pump your DIY can percipitate your own drinking water to the tune of 15gph. Forget about CA water consumption restrictions. Plus the excess airflow not only provides dringing water but can be used to cool and heat your home!

[@ricoswagger7076]

Holy doody your house is amazing.

[@allensandven0]

I think your building envelope should be your primary investment as far as efficiency because that’s going to give you the best ROI then geothermal system is a great option , as you mentioned farm house we recently inherited my wife’s family’s farmhouse that is a great candidate for geo but as you stated , we are in process of completing all the upgrades to bring it up to the year 2022 and the last time it had any attention was 1972 ? Yea , luckily I’m retired ( I think ) and having equipment to do the work . Did I mention there’s a lot of old structures, barns , shop and they all predate the house as far as the last time they received maintenance. If it wasn’t for are grandkids it would not have been my first choice going into retirement and they have helped with all the work thus far including zip lines , go kart track , lots of tractors to repair . If it gets them out here to visit that’s my goal ! And get heat & cooling by summer 2023 ? Lol 😂

[@Challenged1]

Absolutely

[@rhiantaylor3446]

So - my take from your feedback is that success starts with a house that is highly insulated and positioned to maximise Solar PV take and equipped with radiators (or underfloor heating) sized for the lower flow temperatures you will obtain from the heat pump. Some form of electricity storage would probably help too. That sounds like a new-build house unfortunately.

[@verygoodbrother]

or you can do it in stages

[@momedicine3357]

Hey, just wanted to say that if you want to get rid of that hum in your son's room, hang some rock wool insulation. Rock wool is really really good at keeping noise down. I put it all around our laundry room, and you can never tell when someone is doing laundry.

[@Challenged1]

Good product, just crazy expensive

[@louisvl10]

awww just finished my garden, put so much effort in it. i could never dig it all open again :s

[@backcountyrpilot]

Prior to escaping So-Cal 15 years ago, I was paying $950/Mo to air condition a 4,000 SF well-built 2-story house. I think it was about .15KW at the time. (It is .225 now😳) I researched ground-source heat pumps but the mean ground temp in North Idaho was just 44F. Heat is much more important than AC, so it didn’t quite pencil out, even with me digging the trenches. A pro advised that he’d installed 4 systems in the area and none were really paying off, so I went with 16 seer air-source heat pumps. This was over 10:years ago, but do your research.

[@Mr.Engineer.]

You should try Europe, today I payed 0.95 USD before tax and fees pr. kWh. Around 1.10 ~ 1.20 after fees and taxes. Yup, that isn't a typo 😵‍💫

[@s10jam]

Glad to hear your family escaped. Many other families aren't as lucky.

[@stephenbaker3680]

Hey bud. Dont u think Idaho has pretty cold AIR temps too? Maybe winter temps 15-35° at times. U run the ground loop deeper for more heat, & also run a good roof area solar heat loop to split into house heat AND hot water pre-heat for cheap! U gave up too easy!

[@critter4976]

Great update!

[@Challenged1]

Thanks

[@tyrell9369]

Thoughts on type of ground source heat pumps for radiant floor heating or forced air? Also what about heating potable water? I have read that the potable water does not get as hot? Thank you for your videos

[@Challenged1]

My units are Bosch. I haven't had an issue with the desuperheater not producing hot enough water. The water heater set point isn't far off of normal regardless though.

[@tyrell9369]

@@Challenged1 Bosch is a top notch brand definitely planning on going with it when we build.

[@yt650]

Although I am reading this one year after it was put on KZbin, there is a comment that I'd like to make regarding propane. He said that the price was volatile during certain times of the year and he is absolutely correct. If you have a propane tank that belongs to the propane supplier, you are paying the highest price for propane particularly in the winter months, astronomically high per gallon. I got an education on propane purchasing when I was a Director at a 501 C nonprofit organization. Subsequently at the same time I was moving to a home that had electric heat and I wanted to change it to propane. Here is what is necessary to get the lowest price and it is unbelievably cost saving. You must own your own propane tanks. I recommend you buy two 1000 gallon either below ground or above ground propane tanks that you own. Each tank will hold 85% of 1000 gallons. in my situation one 850 gallons would handle one winter season. I didn't need to buy any additional propane during the winter. The only time that I bought propane was in mid June or early July when the price was lowest. Because you own your own tanks you contact all of the suppliers in your area and give them the information that you own your own tanks and you're interested in filling one or more within the next week or two. You will be stunned at how low the price is comparatively. If you can't handle buying one or two propane tanks, I recommend you don't attempt to heat your home with propane. A good thing to remember is that electric heat is 100% efficient. If you insulate properly and I mean properly that is also a very good option.

[@jessopryan1]

I was in that mindset too, for a long while, thinking electric is 100% efficient (100% of the electricity turns to heat) which is fairly accurate. What i didn't understand was heat pumps. Heat Pumps don't make heat, but rather transfer heat. They can move the same amount of heat into (or out of) your home using 20-50% of the electricity you'd use heating with electric resistant heaters. I'm looking to upgrade my hydronic heating to an air to water heat pump, but also considering a geothermal (water-to-water), and mini-split (air-to-air) system. Trying to weigh the benefits and costs - just know I need to move to an efficient heat pump.

[@yt650]

@ A friend of mine who worked for the power company in our area, has since retired however the discussion that I had with him bears thinking about . He said that the opinion of the engineers that he worked with at the power company were of the opinion that the most efficient way of heating a home was the following. The house should be properly insulated and there are specifications for that so that’s the first thing. Their opinion was that 100% of the electrical energy put into a boiler was probably the most efficient way and the easiest and in many cases the least expensive way to heat a home. I wouldn’t really know what questions to ask people like that but they spend a lot of time between themselves over the years trying to figure out if there’s a better way and the conclusion was as stated. Naturally there are always questions about what would you do in the winter if the power went out etc. so your conclusions may be based on your particular situation.

[@jameslindley924]

Thanks for taking the time to post and especially a 4 year review !! How many months is Typically winter out with you ? What is typically the Temperature in Winter ? For a 3000 foot house what size Land is required for the Pipe Grid ?

[@Challenged1]

Our typical winter is probably 3 months (Dec-Feb) with the adjacent months being pretty cool. Winter temps on average are between 20 or 40 degrees F. However, we can definitely see extremes. You could do this system for that size house on a 1/2 acre.

[@CajunGreenMan]

Did you do a blower door test? What was your ACH? Aerobarrier could cut your ACH in half, and the blower door testing is continous during that process. Thank you so much for all the info on geothermal systems, I'm definitely gonna do this myself! Keep up the great work!!

[@Challenged1]

I did not do a blower door test when I built.

[@TagiukGold]

Since this is an ICF house (mine is also), the leakage is only going to be around windows and similar penetrations. Aerobarrier is probably not suitable for an ICF construction. A blower door rating would be interesting, but at this point, not of much use, I'm guessing he paid a lot of attention to detail when building the house, it shows in the quality of everything.

[@CajunGreenMan]

@@TagiukGold Thanks for bringing that up, I'll have to look into that more!

[@Stuart68505]

Helpful tips on installing this type of system. Thank you

[@robertmcgaughey1734]

They make a quilted sound barrier that you can put up around it with speed rail … just a suggestion I work on geothermal systems in mansions in the Hamptons of Long Island New York and that is what we do especially when we have 7 or 8 geothermal condensers all stacked together as you can imagine that vibration noise magnified by 8 but the sound Barrier deadens that to a small hum

[@Challenged1]

Thanks. Do you know who makes the blanket?

[@robertmcgaughey1734]

@@Challenged1 yes SOUND SEAL IS one of the brands it is easily found online like at grainger or supply house and you can find individual panels as well you basically surround it with panels and then one on top and it deadens the vibration sound from the compressor and circulators very well good luck

[@zjeepgozweeln]

Covering the inside of that mechanical room with something like Rockwool safe 'n sound will effectively kill that noise.

[@NomadAlly]

Good to hear. Thanks for sharing.

[@stevebergh7303]

Suggest rock wool insulation to mute bleed through noise.

[@epgvideos3244]

Thank you for this vids. So you use two systens - geotermic and solar. Without them, how much did you would be paying for energy? Just the geotermic can provide for the entirelly house?

[@xTBCGx]

Rockwool is used in pro sound dampening panels, so maybe try that and see how it does?

[@griffith0216]

What size heat pumps did you put in per floor? I'm curious as to what your load calculation came out to on a 3000 sqft per floor ICF home. What brand did you go with and what was the seer rating at the time.

[@robertcarless7445]

With regard to cooling (in our climate we never need heating) I'm about to build a new small retirement house on a couple of acres. I intend to make a large swimming pond/lake. I'm thinking of laying piping in the bottom of the lake, pumped through a heat pump to cool the house, Much less work to install but would it be as efficient as in ground?

[@Challenged1]

It all depends on the depth of the pond (minimum of 10' and at least an acre). If it was me and I mainly only needed cooling, I would go with a mini-split heat pump. They are almost as efficient in cooling mode, and much cheaper.

[@robertcarless7445]

@@Challenged1 Many thanks, I will look into them. Any make or models you recommend?

[@Challenged1]

@@robertcarless7445 I admit, I am no expert when it comes to the different brands of mini-splits.

[@rwg727]

when you were talking about the hypothetical farmhouse, what did you mean by the ground could become saturated? thanks for both your videos on this system and congratulations- you did a lot of work!

[@Challenged1]

The ground only has so much heat to give within a certain period of time. If the system runs too often, it could drop the ground temp faster than the ground temperatures can recover. The ground has a heat transfer rate, and it is possible to exceed it when withdrawing heat.

[@tomsviewphoto]

I had a 3 ton WaterFurnace closed horizontal ground loop installed at my former waterfront home in Northern Ontario. Adequate ground loops are imperative. The house has to be well insulated. The noise can be irritating. And you have to live in an area where electrical pricing isn’t subject to idiotic price changes.

[@1g1d1w]

it would be nice to know what your utility bill cost would be with out the solar array. That it works so well is great news.

[@dantyson1155]

Glad this worked out so well for him. Generally speaking, I don't recommend DIY geothermal because DIY has given geo a bad reputation in the past. A properly designed and installed system will give you insanely good efficiency and a worry-free system for decades. I understand the allure of DIY because the install cost is high. One growing trend that will bring down the cost of geothermal is utilities beginning to install geothermal over an entire neighborhood. Electric utilities love it because it reduces peak demand in the summer and provides electric demand in the winter. Just beware if you are a DIYer, there are many opportunities to screw it up.

[@arthurperrea3714]

I build a super insulated house 1200 sg and I use a open radiant floor system, I use 2. 50 gal electric Geo

[@arthurperrea3714]

Geo HWHP in my Landry room , I heat my home and hot potable water . My electric bill is about $125 . Month for every thing. I also run 4 freeze and my shop and small heat lamps to keep water from freezing for my chickens.. I spent around $1700. For the 2 tanks 9 years with 10 year warranty one had trouble and they give a $800 back and sent me the part, which I got it running again lol .

[@paulmarc-aurele5508]

I have been in the HVAC business my whole life and have installed all types of systems. I am a fan of geothermal but unless you can install yourself it’s not cost effective. A better insulated home with mini splits are the way to go in my opinion. The COP on a Geothermal might be 5.5 and the most efficient mini’ are around 4.5. That makes geothermal the winner if the costs were the same but unless your like me or the KZbinr who made this video the best and first thing to do is build an efficient home. To be fair I did install geothermal on a home I built and did it all myself so it was the best way to go, but when I have to sell to a customer it’s still a great system just not cost effective.

[@Challenged1]

Thank you for leaving the comment

[@davidrosolen3282]

Hi Garret based on watching your videos and taking your advice I have installed a closed loop geothermal sytem that does heating /cooling and domestic hot water and has a built in ERV. My cottage is a A frame structure and about 900 square ft. My Trench length is 95 feet and I have about 520 feet of 3/4" HDPE pipe. The cottage is located 46 degree latitude 78 Degree longitude. Place is called Lake Kipiwa Quebec Canada. The pipes went in the ground November 2022. at a depth of 6' . The system started operating in mid December 2022. Measuring the temperature of the copper pipe that carries the water/gycol mix from the ground in mid January it was 6C. In February the in was 10C, in March 14C. Now that i've been running the air conditioning the ground temperature coming in is 20C and this has been so since mid June. I attribute the early low temperature because in December 2022 when the water/gycol was inserted in the HDPE pipe it had been sitting in the unheated cottage therefore the water/gycol temperature was about 2-3C when it was fed into the HDPE pipes. Currently in mid August the incomimg temperature is 20C and the temperature going back into the ground is 32C; this is favourable as we will be getting into winter and nightime temperatures will dip to -30C . I also believe that the high ground temperature currently is partly due to very wet ground I encountered when digging the trenches. Yoiur thoughts ?

[@Challenged1]

The temperature of the liquid in heating mode is different than it is in cooling mode. It's more a function of the refrigerant temperature than the ground temperature. You'll notice, once you switch back to heating mode, the temps of the liquid will be in line with what you were seeing the previous winter.

[@davidrosolen3282]

@@Challenged1 Hi Garret thanks for your reply. The probe is placed on the copper pipe that is outside the unit, it carries the gycol/water into the unit. To further explain: the HDPE pipe from the ground connects to copper piping before it enters the unit this is where the temperature reading is taken. Does the refrigerant play a part in the temperature before it enters the unit? If so how do I get an idea of what the actual temperature of the glycol/water mix is in the ground? That aside so far the heat pump is doing it's job in winter and summer.

[@Challenged1]

@@davidrosolen3282 It sounds like your probe is giving you an accurate reading of the mixture. It sounds like you are curious as to the temperature of the ground in the winter and summer. To test this, leave the heat pump off for several hours and then cycle on just the circulating pump (not the heat pump) and take a reading with the probe. This should tell you the actual ground temp.

[@ashishpatel350]

you could sound insolate that area to stop the sound hum

[@tryscience]

been a while! congrats on your geothermal glad it worked out for you. I haven't done anything with that on my end yet because I have to go through bunch of permits and right now I'm preparing to install 25 KW solar array. after that maybe a simplified heat pump system with geothermal

[@Challenged1]

Good deal!!!

[@tryscience]

@@Challenged1 by installing a big system I'll probably get quite a few dollars for the SRECs 😎👍

[@thatguyjoe007]

Would like to see a video showing how the geothermal system works. How deep must you go to reach heat underground to warm the home in the winter?

[@Trespasser249]

So to a point it depends on where you live - you obviously need to get well below the frost line for your area. IF you live in Barrow alaska it would be deeper then say if you lived in Georgia. At least here in ohio where i live, 12-13 feet seems to be the minimum. IF you lived in Maine where the frost line is just over 8 feet deep, you would probably have to go 25 feet or so down. general rule of thumb i have found is, you want to be a minimum of 10 feet deep and also a minimum of 10 feet below the frost line. It also depends on what type of system you want. Some of these systems you cut long rows in your yard, at least 12 feet deep and you run coils of hose all around the yard like that and cover them up But you have another option, they bring a driller out and just like if you were drilling for a water well, they bore down somewhere between 250-350FT and they run the pipes up and down that hole. Both accomplish the same thing, one requires alot more land tho.

[@rcook2608]

Just did an amvic pour, very neat system 10m rebar

[@ed-ou812]

I would recommend putting up some sound deadening foam and runner used in the music industry in sound rooms on the ceiling above the unit. Maybe in place if the sheetrock you screwed on.

[@Challenged1]

Believe it or not, the sheetrock is a better noise reducer than the foam, and much cheaper

[@ed-ou812]

@@Challenged1 hmmm I would not have thought that.

[@victoryfirst2878]

This has to be super fella. I am looking into doing the same thing. A home with 2400 square feet not really very well insulated, how much of a loop do I need ?? Thanks

[@balalalala13]

Hey Gzarret thanks for the grezat report. I don't know if you can anwer this. Our utilityis offering a huge rebate to replace very old furnace with a thermal storage for thermal heating.. They heat the deramic bricks during offpeak houurs ant release the accumulated energy from the bricks when they are needed. It's tempting. What do you think?

[@Challenged1]

I always try to think of these things as a math problem. If you do the math and come out ahead, it's worth doing.

[@dianam965]

I appreciate this. Thank you!

[@jwristen24]

Run rockwool in the cavity, 2 layers of 5/8" on rc channel and then sound foam over the too. No sound will get through that

[@Challenged1]

Costs a ton

[@kennethbosley1915]

Have you measured the decibels of the indoor compressor?

[@Challenged1]

No

[@silentvoiceinthedark5665]

My geothermal system passes air through 4 inch landscaping drainage corrugated pipe and pushes air to my AC condenser coil. Not a heat pump but at least I save money in the summer. This is the second summer of use. My electric cost went down about $500 per season. It cost me $1500 to install and next year I will have recovered 100% of my investment. If and when my AC system breaks down, I will replace it with a heat pump to use year round and the cost should go down even more. My total summer electric bill from May to Sept, went down from $900 to $400. So even a poor mans geothermal can work for you. I am designing a cheap liquid heat exchanger to test out on a swimming pool as a heat sink.

[@Eduard.Popa.]

Excellent video !!

[@fR_eN]

Good video, what temperature does your system keep your house when it's 110 degree's outside? Can you keep your house at 74, is that possible? Thanks!

[@Challenged1]

The ground temp remains unchanged by the air temp at the 10' depth of my loops, so I can keep the temp at whatever I want. 74 is no problem.

[@MikeMMartinIII]

Great informative video. Better too many loops till it's time for a bigger pump.😊

[@BillyBob-fd5ht]

I made mine very simple, could only go between 5 to 6 feet in clay and granite rock. did have air in the line, ended up using a 5 gallon bucket tossed in a small sub pump no pressure and no air in the line. Do not buy cheap units learned that lesson, use a Waterfurnace. Older homes it can run more often. use mine spring /summer /fall , dead of winter still need my boiler. -30c Big tip.. Geo kicks off 90% of the time the air filter is dirty.

[@bsod5608]

The sound inside depends very much on the choise of compressor. Different conpressors have differnt soundlevels. Avoid piston-compressors if you have to place them on a place that is sound sensitive

[@Challenged1]

This compressor is a Copeland Scroll compressor.

[@psychicspy]

Try active noise canceling.

[@st0n3p0ny]

Glueing some of that foam egg crate stuff to the ceiling would probably be a lot more effective than another piece of flat drywall. Like an anechoic chamber.

[@Challenged1]

Actually, drywall is one of the best acoustical blockers. The typical egg crate stuff does very little.

[@maagu4779]

Hey, what about the cost or did you forget to say???

[@Challenged1]

I have many videos on the subject

[@daverobert7927]

Compressor noise - have you tried to have a rubber base under the compressor to isolate the vibration and noise. The rubber has to be of a certain type and size to get the best results (depends on the weight and frequency). see an Industrial noise consultant.?

[@Challenged1]

I'm using the ones provided by the manufacturer. They consist of a two rubber layers sandwiched between cork.

[@freetiti3474]

You might have been out of luck with your noisy heat pump. Usually, most of them aren't noisier than a fridge ! Or maybe there are some issues with the sound insulation (mechanical coupling, resonance...) ?

[@thormeyer6198]

Awesome video!! One question- how do you cool the house? Do you run the compressor, to a air heat exchanger or??

[@Challenged1]

The compressor is run for heat and cool. It just depends if the reversing valve is energized whether it is one or the other.

[@bocadelcieloplaya3852]

04:35: warning equipmwnt fed by two sources.......very nice touch, may save sumones life someday. Proactive thinking.

[@christopherpalmer4243]

What would you recommend for a 1200sqft casa in Baja, mainly cooling?

[@Challenged1]

If it's just cooling, I wouldn't use geothermal. A mini-split system would be the most efficient and cost effective way to go.

[@christopherpalmer4243]

@@Challenged1 thanks

[@philjoyce7939]

Did you use a scroll compressor? They are far quieter than piston compressors.

[@Challenged1]

Copeland scroll compressor

[@badgerchillsky535]

Did you try foam to absorb some of the sound? I would think a couple inches of foam on the ceiling above the unit would mitigate nearly all the noise bleeding through to the room above

[@Challenged1]

Believe it or not, foam has almost no sound absorbing properties.

[@gordonv2456]

My septic system is in the way so I am going with solar that banks KWH for winter heat. I also don't have gas so solar may end up cheaper compared to bringing in gas and getting gas furnace and paying for dino fuel forever.

[@retiredjan4714]

Uh.. a battery bank is *not* the solution for storing energy to use for heating as you need lots of MWH to cover that. I'm using about 210 MWH for heating in a year and 70% of that is in just 3 months (Dec to Feb) with no sun.

[@GaryStango]

What did you do to size the system? I have a new barn and I am already digging a 350+ foot trench to build a new spring development. I was going to drop that water line at 6'. I could just go an additional 2' and i'd have a trench for the same type of setup. How did you calculate the amount of pipe to fan it out? Also, did you look into how tree root systems effect the pipe? This will be going under an orchard, but I could hae the trees avoid the strip.

[@Challenged1]

Lots and lots of research as well as talking with any hvac person that had any knowledge of this type of system. The supplier was also a great resource. I would avoid putting it under trees if possible. While the roots won't penetrate the pipe, they could rub up against them.

[@mattvenier3588]

Could you share where you got your "Geothemal kit" from? Or the type of Bosch Units you used? Did some searching on the old inter webs and it get really confusing real fast with all kind of companies wanting to be your one stop installer. I like the DIY aspect of your setup

[@Challenged1]

I got all of my components from a local supplier in Wichita, KS. I had a friend with me who has a refrigeration license.

[@berendlensvanrijn386]

how to size the loop?

[@davidrosolen3282]

I am building a cottage in Quebec Canada. It's an A frame building and about 950 square feet. Very well insulated with triple glazed windows. I am off grid and have a 7 kW solar system with batteries and a back up propane generator. I have a all in one ERV/split Heat pump. I am on a lake and originally was going to put my pipes in lake water however the distance to the lake and the distance to get to a 10 foot depth was too much. We have a well so then I thought I'll go open loop however my HVAC contractor convinced me to go to closed loop ground. Even though I'm on almost 2 acres I only have a small area next to the cottage that is cleared. I can only fit 2 trenches 30' long. My soil is surrounded by bedrock and is very wet ( digging for the foundation we hit standing water). My thought is: given the size and efficiency of the building as well as having a super efficient ERV/Heat pump and my wet soil. I think that 50-60 of trench and installing coil pumping should suffice for cold Canadian temperatures. Your thoughts?

[@Challenged1]

Unfortunately, those trenches will be too short

[@davidrosolen3282]

@@Challenged1 Thanks! I can achieve more trenching if I install my loop piping in the same trench as my water line that originates at my well. Will the single water line interfere with the performance provided I keep it 2 ft away ?

[@Challenged1]

@@davidrosolen3282 No

[@mainelife4268]

Do you have a good air to water you would recommend. Ground source is not an option for me

[@Challenged1]

No specific brand, but I would spend extra money on one with a 2-speed or variable speed compressor.

[@retiredjan4714]

Watchout.!!! Air to water system works only if the air temp is above 7C (45F). Here in The Netherlands this system is used from Mar/Apr to Oct/Nov and complemented with a NaturalGas heater for the winter months to reduce the NG bill.

[@chrisrobey77]

What is your electricity usage annually? And how much solar production is generated by your system?

[@Challenged1]

I'll have an upcoming video with all of that information

[@EccoBlackfin]

So I have about 3/4 of an acre, very sandy soil, and a fairly high water table for a section of the yard (thankfully not where my house is, half the lot including my house is up on/in a hill). Is a GSHP doable?

[@Challenged1]

Due to the high water table, that would be a great candidate for it.

[@EccoBlackfin]

@@Challenged1 thank you for your insight!

[@guillaumelafleche9477]

I wish I had a geothermal setup to deposit and withdraw heat through cement the basement floor of my townhouse condo (so probably no digging allowed). I also wish I had a loop with probably CO2 as the working fluid to transfer heat from the wastewater pipe to preheat water going to a heat pump water heater, and since I'm dreaming, that heat pump got most of its heat from the exiting water after the first loop (or maybe just a heat pump loop).

[@RedandAprilOff-Grid]

Good, informative video! That's a lot of space to heat and cool! Nice! People were telling us we should install a system like this, but in our area, and with the passive solar design of our house we should be able to stay comfortable with the occasional use of a wood burning stove in the winter, and an evaporative cooler in the summer. We are all solar, but putting in some propane for our stove, and we'll have the option for the dryer as well. 😊🏜️

[@Challenged1]

Good deal. Low or no bills are an amazing feeling!!! Do you have much humidity in your area?

[@RedandAprilOff-Grid]

It's very dry until the monsoon rains hit in July. Our evaporative cooler won't be as effective then, but the rain also cools everything down a lot.

[@zubutv.]

Brilliant video

[@edwardluth7740]

My brother and his new wife built a new home and geo thermal. They were not saving that much money. They did save a lot. And their home is all spray foam insulation so it’s super insulated. Their bill for all electric Geo thermal and inside electric utilities runs 300.00 every Jan on average. He doesn’t lie. Now my Mothers home has a high efficiency heat pump seer 20 variable speed and her same size home runs in Jan around 400 a month with all electric kitchen just like my brother. So my brother said geothermal saves him about 35 percent over a heat pump. Good but not 100 a month lol.

[@DB-xp9px]

i also have a geothermal system and altho my house is 1/3 smaller than yours, i often pay $200-300 monthly, especially in the winter months. put it in 23 years ago when zero rebates were available. makes me wonder if the "antifreeze" type liquid they put in the loop has become less efficient over time.

[@verygoodbrother]

so wait, you haven't flushed your system?

[@DB-xp9px]

@@verygoodbrother i haven't. maybe i should look into how long the stuff lasts. the trouble is, if it's the industry recommending the action then their opinion becomes suspect given they stand to make a profit

[@verygoodbrother]

@@DB-xp9px It's not a case of how long it lasts but rather how frequently it should be maintained or serviced. It's like buying a car that can last several years. However it won't last long if it is not regularly serviced like changing the oil, topping up antifreeze etc. You always want to service it regularly so that you catch a fault early that could develop into a bigger and more expensive fault.

[@DB-xp9px]

@@verygoodbrother i'm all for routine maintenance but i have a trust issue w/ the local geothermal service place. i had 1 pump go out a long time ago so i paid them parts/labor to replace it then a year or so later, the newer one would go out so they came out again....another few $100 out of my pocket only to have it happen a few more years. eventually i replaced the pump myself and no further failures happened. gigantic coincidence, maybe. had a very similar wash/rinse/repeat happen w/ a part on my last Cruze. again, didn't stop until i did the repair then went another 100k miles before the car was traded in. another gigantic coincidence, maybe. needless to say, i've got good cause to be skeptical these places really do what they're paid to do.

[@verygoodbrother]

@@DB-xp9px The important thing is that you're servicing it, be it yourself or a through company.

[@Cartercentral]

I had a 3-ton, 3 vertical well geo system retrofitted to existing ductwork this past November 2021. I also have a 10.5 kW solar array. So, far I love both, and this year I anticipate being net zero. My geothermal system is from Carrier/Bryant, and the total cost was $19,300 (less a 26% tax credit). A friend of mine paid nearly $12K for a new HVAC system, so to my mind, having this system installed was a 'no-brainer' once the cost and efficiency were considered. I pretty much agree with all of Garrett's comments. While there is a low-end hum from the compressor, the variable speed fan is much quieter than my old air handler, so from a noise perspective, I think the geo unit is quieter overall.

[@robertvandermolen230]

Did the $19,300 include the three geothermal wells?

[@Cartercentral]

@@robertvandermolen230 It included everything: cart off of old HVAC, boring of wells, new equipment, installation, and electrician.

[@DSMEManjunathBadagar]

How to decide the length and diameter of the ground loops

[@Challenged1]

You need to know the properties of your soils to make those decisions.

[@treyhart6861]

The biggest complaint I've heard about heat pumps is "they can't keep up in the cold". To me, this sounds like their system was not properly sized, and now heat pumps, and geo-thermal is getting a bad reputation, not because they are junk, but because they were improperly sized for the installation.

[@Challenged1]

I would agree with this statement

[@JRush374]

Do you run the backup system every so often? Or does it just sitting there not effect it negatively over time?

[@Challenged1]

It has never come on. No negative effect when not in use.

[@tomdixon1213]

Do you harvest water at all?

[@USA-GreedyMenOfNoIntegrity]

So tell me, Mr. do it yourselfer, if you had any warranty issues, how did those work out for you?

[@ShabnaIsmail]

My LEGO league team is presenting an Innovation project on Geothermal pump. Can they reach out to you anyway to seek some advice?

[@mfredricknew]

question. I am wanting to cool and heat a green house. 200 sq ft. to place the pipe in a pit is it better to use 90 deg turns or not? was planning on 200 ft of pipe approx 7 feet down. would this be enough to make an affect on temps? . no return to earth just straight in.

[@Challenged1]

Use as few mechanical bends as possible to reduce leaks. I have no idea if it will make much of a difference or not. It sounds like this would be a passive system that doesn't use a heat pump.

[@mjoelnir1899]

Ground source heat pump is a good name and should be used, to not confuse it with geothermal energy from deep drilling. Geothermal energy provides much higher temperatures.

[@Challenged1]

There are three types of geothermal systems as defined by the government. This is one, and what you described is one.

[@mjoelnir1899]

@@Challenged1 We here in Iceland make a difference between ground source heat pump and geothermal. If we talk about geothermal energy, we talk about system that use higher temperatures. Usually you have to drill for it.

[@Struthio_Camelus]

@@mjoelnir1899 I agree that real geothermal is a grid-scale resource, certainly too much of a capital expense for an individual to heat one home. "Ground-source heat pump" is an accurate term, but time is money, and marketers want a quicker way to say it.

[@shawn_143]

Problem with all this energy efficient stuff is it's initial cost .they say it can save money in the long run or adds resale value . Then they give you the line you don't buy it to save money you buy it to to save the planet.