Hi all,

I just found this forum tonight. I have been interested in geothermal for about a year now but I cannot find a contractor.

I already have a 10kw solar array and I feel that I can be almost entirely energy independent with the addition of geothermal.

And of course there is also the fact that there is a federal tax incentive! :)

I am also interested in other peoples experiences with geothermal. Especially in my area.

I need a heat and AC closed loop system that would be 100% geothermal with no need for auxiliary in my 2500 square foot home.

I look forward to reading this forum.

Happy Holidays to all.

, Bill

Hi,

Welcome,


You can go here and search for installers in your state.

Good Luck

Thank you sir!

That is extremely helpful.

Even still, if someone has a recommendation that would be great!

Thanks.

, Bill

I like

Grasso Air Conditioning & Heating
Hammonton, NJ 08037
(609) 561-0002

I used them for my old Geothermal system. They specialize in Florida Heat pumps. I didn't however use them for my Replacement system. I didn't have the cash to replace the system, and not enough equity in the house yet to take a Home Equity loan against it. I considered tapping my 401k at the time, but I found I could get an unsecured loan thru the state at a 6% interest rate (banks usually charge around 12% for the same type of loan and there 5K limit), and interest on a 401k Loan would have been 7%. Anyway, I was limited to the "Approved" state contractors, so that limited me on my choices. I had to use Laury Heating and Cooling in Vineland. I felt they were a little more pricey and there knowledge wasn't as extensive as I would have liked. (They had to come back twice to get the system working right) In the end they did get it running right (after running on backup heat for a month, just lucky I know enough about the systems to notice something was wrong)


I am also interested in other peoples experiences with geothermal. Especially in my area.

Where in South Jersey is your area? I live in West Galloway, my experience has been pretty positive so far. I was just unlucky to buy a 17 year old house where the system was at the End of Life and it failed within 6 months of use. There are no natural gas lines out this way, so your limited to either Propane or Oil if you want a central heating system. (or Wood/Coal) I can only imagine what it would cost to heat my 3,600 Sq Ft house with Propane. Anyway the system keeps the house at 68 degrees all the time, I can't comment on cooling yet, I havent had a working system all Summer. As for the bills, the system only been running (Right) for 2 months, I don't have enough data yet to draw hard fact as to how much more efficient the system is over the old one. But than again, I will be comparing one Geo system to Another, so I don't expect any massive difference in the electric bills. 

The old system was a 4 ton Florida Heat Pump, with desuperheater (but not connected)

The new system is a 4 ton Water Furnace, with desuperheater connected. 
 
   

If your a considering geothermal dx or not familiar with it (just had one put in my home) go to earthlinked.com and look for the tab for dealers by region. If you would like aditional info on DX, just let me know and I would be happy to send you something.

alice

Techgrommit-

I was reading some of your posts and it seems you and I genereally think alike. Thanks you for the referral and sharing your experiences. I to would like hear other peoples experiences.

Before I had my solar array installed I went through six contractors before finding one that really knew what he was doing. Understandable, because in is a new technology in the area. When the system was up and running I was glued to it to make sure it was working properly. But it did, and it is phenomenal!

But geothermal has been around for hundreds of years! For some reason geothermal seems to be quite secretive. Although, from what I see geothermal is probably the best option available for home heating and cooling. Go figure.

About six months ago I had contacted three contractors for geothermal. One would only respond in emails and didn't have time to come out and give an estimate. One was too busy doing other projects and said he would get to me in about three months. Another said that he only does new construction. This is why I put it on the shelf...

So now there is a Federal tax incentive of $2k and the Fed just cut to .25 so my existing home equity line of credit will be very low. Now is a good time. I simply need someone that I can trust to do it!

CoCo-

Thank you so much and if you can please share any info that you have in this thread that would be great!

Thanks for your responses!

, Bill

Neverendz ~ also keep in mind that 6 months ago fuel oil prices were close to $5 per gallon, now the price is more on the order of $2.75 per gallon.  As a result, 6 months ago a lot more people were considering geo and geo contractors were going crazy.  You may find that geo contractors have a lot more time to spend with you now (even with the $2K credit!).

I interviewed several geo contractors and ended up using the contractor that was not schmoozy and appeared knowledgeable.  He was also the contractor that returned calls dependably.  While I've had a few glitches, I still feel as if I made the best choice.

Good Luck with your decision.

On that link Geodean posted, I had my geothermal installed by David Goldsholl (Energi1). Very reliable guy. He is actually our contractor on the projects we do here in the office.

Not quite, Geothermal uses the same principals as the magic Ice box. Refrigeration was invented in the late 1800's, but wasn't widely used until the 1940's. Using the heat pumps to heat and cool houses (instead of just food) started in the 1950's. Anyone can install there own system, although some vendors resist selling directly to the consumer. The main reason is support, they don't want to be bothered to hold your hand thru the entire process. They rather just sell there products and offer support to knowledgable contractors. Also if the system isn't sized correctly, it will not work as advertised, thus you'll tell all you friends system made by XYZ company really sucks, when in reality poor installation is why it's not working right. It takes a lot of knowledge and planning to install a system correctly. If the system it too small for the house, it will run all the time and not keep up with the heating or cooling load, If the ground loop is too small, the system will extract all the heat/cold out of the ground and the system will stop working. In an open loop, if your ground water has too many impurities in it, it will cause a lot of maintenanace issues and lead to the system failing within a few years. Many issues have been reported here, not backfilling the closed loop trenches correctly, having air in the closed loop lines, to name a few.    
  

 

Well said TG

Actually the Romans used geothermal. But that's neither here nor there. :)

I never said, nor would I ever attempt to install my own system.

, Bill

Not the same kind of Geothermal. I guess your correct in that sence, they used heat from the earth to heat there roman baths. But when we are talking about geothermal, what we mean is Water Source Heat Pumps, either open or closed loops, not the steam that comes out of volcanic vents, which have been around since the formation of the planet. :)
 

CMS Geothermal, Inc., a family-owned business formed in 1979, offers over 25 years of experience in our field.
www.cmsgeothermal.com

Contact Mel Hensch, too, and look in to EarthLinked DX geothermal. It might save you $$ on the install.

Mel Hensch
[email protected]
508-328-4735 phone

He's the EarthLinked sales rep for your area and would know which installers to contact. Good luck!