What if we told you that there's a home heating system on the market that can slash your heating and cooling costs by 60 percent? You're interested, right? Well, here's the thing... it really pays off for young people with many years of climate-controlled life ahead of them. Geothermal heating pumps are crazy expensive to install.
Geothermal heat pumps work to heat and cool your house in such a way that's nearly impossible to explain in brief.
Basically, a long length of plastic pipe, the "loop field," is buried deep below ground level to take advantage of the Earth's natural, stable temperature (50° to 60° year round). The loop field picks up heat to warm your house in the winter. In the summer, it removes heat from your home and discharge it into the cooler ground below.
Depending on the configuration, that loop field may need to be buried up to 200 feet deep, not a depth you could easily hit with your hardware store shovel. Therefore, the price tag on a project like this can very easily dip into tens of thousands of dollars (House Logic suggests that "a geothermal heat pump for a 2,000 sq. ft. house will cost about $20,000").
But the benefits are worth it. Conservative estimates suggest that you'll cut your winter heating and summer cooling bills in half. But you could see up to a 70 percent savings—nearly $700 per year. That's even before you factor in free hot water every summer. That's right—the heat extracted from your home during warm summer months can be directly used to heat up water for your showers.
(Images: HouseLogic.com)
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I have a relative that had one of these. When he went to sell the house (after 15 years) he hed to get the "loop field" inspected. He had to replace the whole thing ... 20 grand worth, and fix the yard where it had to be dug up to boot.
Also, at 20,000, even without any repairs/replacements, it will take over 28 years to get your money back at 700 bucks per year.
I sort of assumed from the bit before the jump that this was going to be a cheap alternative to crazy expensive geothermal heating so was disappointed when I read the rest.
I mean, the site is called Apartment Therapy not crazy expensive new build McMansion therapy, right?
I'm seriously hoping that with the site relaunch, AT goes back to its roots. There are plenty of sites online for designing/decorating/outfitting big single family houses, AT is (was?) the best resource for apartment dwellers on the internet.
I just re-build my home after flooding.
I put in a geothermal system for radiant floor heat in the whole house. The system works great, and costs 50% less the the gas heat in the old house. The system is also reversed in the summer to provide AC. the electric bill for june was $200 which is the same as the old house which was 1/2 the size.
I wonder if an entire block or group of neighbors could join to create one large geothermal heating system at reduced cost?
anthropos: promoting alternative energy, sustainable sources like geothermal is completely in line with our goals as a site. The majority of the time we continue highlighting small space, budget solutions, but that doesn't mean we're not interested in more expensive resources to save up for (especially technology which may become more affordable down the line).
The truth is small space living isn't just for apartment dwellers. People live in small condos, lofts and even single family homes. Something like geothermal or solar solutions could be meaningful investments from a long term perspective.
Even though the writer and myself live in small apartments, we're always interested in learning and sharing more about resources that are yet in our own lives. One only has to go back yesterday to see posts about "cheap" cooling solutions...we'll continue to spotlight affordable resources, but also share ones that are aspirational. That's always been AT's goals!
I assume pricing is regional, but when we reno'd our 3ksqft house, we REALLY wanted geo. Estimates STARTED @$45k.
I built my house last year and put this system in. About $20,000 for 2k ft is right on (in Missouri), though it's not the install that adds so much to the cost. The manufacturer adds cost to the unit because they know, and the buyer knows you'll be saving money. We love ours. Works great, and we are saving monthly money. What hasn't been mentioned is the 30% federal tax credit on these systems. (The manufacturers know that too). They are quieter than traditional and there's also no reason you'd need a big house for one, or a big lot. Instead of the long trenches, the loops can also be dug straight down. Thumbs up from me.
I live in a very urban area with lots of different sizes of houses and this is very common here. It is not quite as affordable as I would like, and the ROI wasn't there for us, but definitely not a McMansion only solution. Old house rehabs are one of the more common uses for this.