Engineers, by and large, don't become involved in residential systems (I'm an exception to that rule)

Engaging a 3rd party evaluator essentially serves to 2nd guess the installing contractor, a process not likely to end in satisfaction or happiness for all involved.

It comes down to selecting a competent honorable contractor and working with him / her to ensure a successful outcome.

A good contractor's design work will specify loop conditions, system size, performance, loads, and estimated cost of operation. Software tools expedite all of that, contingent upon proper inputs and correct implementation.

Scott101 ~ I want to clarify that I have not lost all faith in my contractor/installer. While I was disappointed in this inspection I am thankful for your post because it made me take a step back and realize that I never received anything like this when I had my oil furnace inspected. It's difficult because I invested a lot of time and research into geo, and now I want a lot more out of it... but taking that step back is good.

Regarding what to expect from your geo contractor when you are deciding on your system, I was very happy with the pre-installation info that I received from my contractor. You can find the info that was provided to me at:

http://geochoices.com/pre-installation_info.html

If you look towards the bottom of the page you will see "Pre-Installation Report (pdf) - this may take a minute" - just click on that. I believe that this really helped us to make an informed decision.