Life Homeowners or construction workers of CP, lend me your ear! - Page 3

El Jefe · 06-13-2012, 06:40 AM

My wife and I are going to be building a house in the near future (probably 2 years or so). We have been looking at all different types of new and cool things. I watched an episode of Dirty Jobs and Mike was on the job site of a construction company that installs geo-thermal heating and cooling systems under the house obviously prior to the house being built. They said this is very popular on the Left coast, but has moved into the Midwest also. The idea of it is simply interesting to me, I think it would be great to use the earths heating and cooling to cool my house. That being said, have any of you installed or had a system like this installed? If so, how great is it, how expenisve was it, would you recommend it?

Second question again for both types of CP'ers, can anyone share knowledge with me regarding wood burner boiler systems? We used a wood burining stove in our house when I lived at home. I watched some videos of those who have these wood burner boilers that heat their houses and garages efficiently. They put these things outside and then fill it with wood obviously and go from there. I heard you can get a 250 gallon or a 500 gallon burner, and you don't have to fill it with wood all the time because it's so big. The guy I talked with that has one lives in Cleveland Ohio which gets very cold in the winter and he said he has natural gas heating, but also had the wood boiler installed. He said he only used his natural gas a handful of times when it wasn't cold enough to warranty using the wood burner system. He said it has saved him a fortune. The reason I am really interested in this is because where we are going to build (still trying to work it out/fingers crossed) there is almost a limitless supply of firewood, and I have been cutting firewood all my life, so its free and its no big deal to do it.

inb4TLDR
Cliffs
:Asking advice about installing a geothermal heating and cooling system when I build my house.
:I then ask about anyone who has knowledge on a wood burner boiler.

**mikeyis4dcats.** · 06-13-2012, 02:01 PM

it is expensive, but there have been a lot of tax and utility credits to offset that cost. that depends on your location and tax situation though.

vailpass · 06-13-2012, 02:30 PM

Some Tax Credit Details Here:
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?...edits.tx_index.

Tax Credit:
30% of cost with no upper limit
Expires:
December 31, 2016
Details:
Existing homes & new construction qualify. Both principal residences and second homes qualify. Rentals do not qualify.

Geothermal Heat Pumps
Small Wind Turbines (Residential)
Solar Energy Systems

Tax Credit:
Credit Details: 30% of the cost, up to $500 per .5 kW of power capacity
Expires:
December 31, 2016
Details:
Existing homes & new construction qualify. Must be your principal residence. Rentals and second homes do not qualify.

Fuel Cells (Residential Fuel Cell and Microturbine System)

Chief Roundup · 06-13-2012, 03:02 PM

Heat pumps work like an A/C they just have a reversing valve that changes the direction of the flow of refrigerant. They basicly absorb and dispell the temperature of the air around them through the changing of liquid to gas of the freon. If you are in a colder area you will not like a heat pump with electric heat strips. Once it gets below 35 or so the heat pump will not be working it will be the strips only.

There are 2 different types of geo thermal units. There is a pump and dump and a closed loop. Geo units are easily TWICE the price of a standard split system. That is not including the wells that will have to be drilled or the well pumps.
An Geo can save some on the monthly bill but they have more parts to break down that can be expensive.
I have installed and serviced a lot of Geo units. Because they are not as common the parts are more expensive and sometimes will take up to a week to get the parts.

Being licensed in the HVACR industry for 10 years money aside I would not put in a Geo thermal unit in my house. The most important part of your Heating and Air Conditioning system is the duct work. It needs to be tight and have no leaks.
2 years ago I put in a 17 seer heat pump split system with 20KW of electric heat strips in northern Arkansas in a 3200 sq. ft. home. It is insulated with foam in the walls and cellulose in the attic. His highest electric bill has been $58.

**Iowanian** · 06-13-2012, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by El Jefe

Do any of you know what kind of cash we are talking about? Lets just say a 2000 square foot house with a basement. Are we talking 10k, 20k, 30k+

I was talking with a dealer last week. Around $30k with 2 zones and heat in the floor but after rebates and so forth it was looking like 14-15k out of pocket for me. Without the zones and floor heat, I'm thinking it was around 25k before the tax man magic.

HonestChieffan · 06-13-2012, 09:43 PM

My next house will be foam insulated and probably have a heat pump fed by water out of a pond not a well or ground loop. That said, insulation is the key to efficiency. I know a few people doing their own natural gas wells in the area but we are rural so that makes a difference

**mikeyis4dcats.** · 06-14-2012, 09:58 AM

actually heat pumps used in a geothermal system have LESS moving parts than traditional equipment, and since they are typically installed indoors, they last up to 3 times longer.

Hoover · 06-14-2012, 10:04 AM

People up the geothermal wells directly under the house when there is not space to put them elsewhere. My wife and I built our house in 2010 and installed a geo thermal system. We have four wells that were drilled on the side of where the house sits. I'd only locate them below the house if I didn't have the space to put it elsewhere.

Having a geo system means that your house is almost totally powered by electricity. The only thing that runs on gas in my house is the fireplace. Our highest utility bill for a 3500 square foot house is $160 bucks a month.

I'm glad we did it.

**notorious** · 06-14-2012, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alton deFlat

Unless you're strapped for space, there's no need to put the wells under your house though. The way they fuse the pipe, there's little chance of a problem, but if there were, I'd rather have it accessible.

That's how they did a lot of them in Greensburg.

06-13-2012, 06:40 AM
El Jefe Don't tread on me. Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Where the peaches grow Casino cash: $9030572	Homeowners or construction workers of CP, lend me your ear! My wife and I are going to be building a house in the near future (probably 2 years or so). We have been looking at all different types of new and cool things. I watched an episode of Dirty Jobs and Mike was on the job site of a construction company that installs geo-thermal heating and cooling systems under the house obviously prior to the house being built. They said this is very popular on the Left coast, but has moved into the Midwest also. The idea of it is simply interesting to me, I think it would be great to use the earths heating and cooling to cool my house. That being said, have any of you installed or had a system like this installed? If so, how great is it, how expenisve was it, would you recommend it? Second question again for both types of CP'ers, can anyone share knowledge with me regarding wood burner boiler systems? We used a wood burining stove in our house when I lived at home. I watched some videos of those who have these wood burner boilers that heat their houses and garages efficiently. They put these things outside and then fill it with wood obviously and go from there. I heard you can get a 250 gallon or a 500 gallon burner, and you don't have to fill it with wood all the time because it's so big. The guy I talked with that has one lives in Cleveland Ohio which gets very cold in the winter and he said he has natural gas heating, but also had the wood boiler installed. He said he only used his natural gas a handful of times when it wasn't cold enough to warranty using the wood burner system. He said it has saved him a fortune. The reason I am really interested in this is because where we are going to build (still trying to work it out/fingers crossed) there is almost a limitless supply of firewood, and I have been cutting firewood all my life, so its free and its no big deal to do it. inb4TLDR Cliffs :Asking advice about installing a geothermal heating and cooling system when I build my house. :I then ask about anyone who has knowledge on a wood burner boiler.
Posts: 8,540

06-13-2012, 02:01 PM	#31
mikeyis4dcats. Scarlett Johansson's boytoy Join Date: Nov 2006 Casino cash: $9555998	it is expensive, but there have been a lot of tax and utility credits to offset that cost. that depends on your location and tax situation though. __________________
Posts: 12,526

06-13-2012, 02:30 PM	#32
vailpass Psycho Bag Of Squanch Join Date: Sep 2001 Casino cash: $9594244	Some Tax Credit Details Here: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?...edits.tx_index. Tax Credit: 30% of cost with no upper limit Expires: December 31, 2016 Details: Existing homes & new construction qualify. Both principal residences and second homes qualify. Rentals do not qualify. Geothermal Heat Pumps Small Wind Turbines (Residential) Solar Energy Systems Tax Credit: Credit Details: 30% of the cost, up to $500 per .5 kW of power capacity Expires: December 31, 2016 Details: Existing homes & new construction qualify. Must be your principal residence. Rentals and second homes do not qualify. Fuel Cells (Residential Fuel Cell and Microturbine System) __________________ “Education is a weapon whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed.” Joseph Stalin
Posts: 69,591

06-13-2012, 03:02 PM	#33
Chief Roundup Admitted Planet Junky Join Date: Oct 2000 Casino cash: $1781627	Heat pumps work like an A/C they just have a reversing valve that changes the direction of the flow of refrigerant. They basicly absorb and dispell the temperature of the air around them through the changing of liquid to gas of the freon. If you are in a colder area you will not like a heat pump with electric heat strips. Once it gets below 35 or so the heat pump will not be working it will be the strips only. There are 2 different types of geo thermal units. There is a pump and dump and a closed loop. Geo units are easily TWICE the price of a standard split system. That is not including the wells that will have to be drilled or the well pumps. An Geo can save some on the monthly bill but they have more parts to break down that can be expensive. I have installed and serviced a lot of Geo units. Because they are not as common the parts are more expensive and sometimes will take up to a week to get the parts. Being licensed in the HVACR industry for 10 years money aside I would not put in a Geo thermal unit in my house. The most important part of your Heating and Air Conditioning system is the duct work. It needs to be tight and have no leaks. 2 years ago I put in a 17 seer heat pump split system with 20KW of electric heat strips in northern Arkansas in a 3200 sq. ft. home. It is insulated with foam in the walls and cellulose in the attic. His highest electric bill has been $58. __________________ Fanaticism is nowhere. There is no tenderness or humanity in fanaticism.
Posts: 19,229

06-13-2012, 09:43 PM	#35
HonestChieffan Seeking the Truth daily Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: In the Country in MO Casino cash: $1944309	My next house will be foam insulated and probably have a heat pump fed by water out of a pond not a well or ground loop. That said, insulation is the key to efficiency. I know a few people doing their own natural gas wells in the area but we are rural so that makes a difference __________________ “Make no mistake. If you try anything to raise the cost of vishessavatubs, I will veto it.” - Joe Biden, SOTU 2023
Posts: 53,419

06-14-2012, 09:58 AM	#36
mikeyis4dcats. Scarlett Johansson's boytoy Join Date: Nov 2006 Casino cash: $9555998	actually heat pumps used in a geothermal system have LESS moving parts than traditional equipment, and since they are typically installed indoors, they last up to 3 times longer. __________________
Posts: 12,526

06-14-2012, 10:04 AM	#37
Hoover Rufus Dawes Jr. Join Date: Aug 2000 Casino cash: $1388179	People up the geothermal wells directly under the house when there is not space to put them elsewhere. My wife and I built our house in 2010 and installed a geo thermal system. We have four wells that were drilled on the side of where the house sits. I'd only locate them below the house if I didn't have the space to put it elsewhere. Having a geo system means that your house is almost totally powered by electricity. The only thing that runs on gas in my house is the fireplace. Our highest utility bill for a 3500 square foot house is $160 bucks a month. I'm glad we did it.
Posts: 17,385