I am starting this thread in response to a suggestion from Joe Ami.  I know there have been a lot of discussions about how much you can save by switching to a GSHP from oil, but here goes.  I have talked to some installers in my area about switching my home to geo from an oil fired hot water baseboard system.  The system I have works fine, it is just expensive to run because of the high cost of oil.  Contrary to what I and most people would have expected, the price of oil has fallen substatially in the past couple of months(currently$2.89/gal. where I live).  I use about 1,000 gals./year to heat my home and supply hot water.  At $3/gal. I would spend $3,000 for the year.  I have had 3 geo quotes for between 45-50K for a complete system with vertical ground loop and all ductwork to heat 2700 sq. ft.(52000 BTU heat loss by manual J).  

I would love to switch to geo, but I just can't see how I can spend that much money and justify it as getting a reasonable payback period.  If somehow I could get a payback in 10 years or less through a lower cost system or tax incentives, or whatever I would make the move, but I just don't see that at the moment.

The problem in your case probably isn't the GEO, it's the need for ducts. You'd have to consider the fact that you probably don't have A/C right now, which is one of the nice things in geo. So you aren't looking at an apples to apples.
Take a look around for an estimate of what your home value would be if it had central air. You might need to consider the change in house value is part of the difference.

Also, just for comparison, what area are you in? The quotes seem fairly high, but given you're on oil fired hydronic baseboard, I'd imagine you're in New England where I'm told the costs are much higher.

I am in New England(RI) and I guess that is part of the reason for the higher cost. You are right about the ductwork also. I have a single level "L" shaped ranch(2700 sq. ft.) with a full unfinished basement and therefore good access to run ductwork. Given that the drilling should be about 10K and the GSHP unit 8-10K? it seems like a lot for duct work and whatever else is left. I have gotten a few quotes and they are all in the 45-50K range, so I think that is the going rate at this time and in this area.

The central air would increase the value of the house, and although it would be nice, it is not something I care about that much. Perhaps I need to investigate alternative technologies such as solar that would be less expensive and apply just to heating. We have one wing of the house that the roof faces perfectly south(66 feet long) with no trees shading it.

Apparently, the geo guys in your area are so bombed that they are trying to run business off. I suggest you wait and re-shop in February. I'd also like to see you seek a DX dealer or two. Many of these guys are still building business and a little more flexible. Seneca's point about A/C is valid. That may be worth as much as 10K on your house+ alternative energy may be worth 10% of home value + 2K fed. tax credit.... we might be getting closer.
Either way I encourage you to keep shopping. You may save as much as 30 or 40% by working the phone book. You could also try Eagle Mountain for sweat equity.
Good Luck,
Joe

Hey Joe

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions. I think one of the problems around here is that there just aren't that many people doing geo installations and so they are swamped and competition is not there. I do plan to monitor the situation and try again in the future assuming oil prices don't keep falling. You had one comment about trying Eagle Mountain for sweat equity. I am certainly open to doing whatever I can to reduce the cost. What is Eagle Mountain, and how could they save me some money?

Thanks
DK

Well if there's no competition for the geothermal people, look for where there is. There are probably a lot more guys who can install duct work. Just make sure they do it up to snuff for handling the amount of air (require a manual I think it's T and D from what engineer has said). If the only thing they need to do is the actual geo install, you should be able to bring down the price more than the cost of your alternative duct installers.

In fact, as Joe's pointed out (at least for MI) there's a lot of guys dieing to get some tin knocking work.

Eagle Mountain is a firm that designs geo for the diy's. Ask for Pete and tell him I sent you.
I like Seneca's suggestion about contracting sheet metal seperately.
Re. cost of oil going down; least efficent geo is still 275% more efficient than an oil system (loosely). New tax credit should still keep you in the less than 10 year payback. Cost of ducts however should be set aside as budget for AC that would be spent with or without geo (and add to home value).
j