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Geothermal heating cooling
After lots of research, I've elected to install geothermal. I'm still breaking ground, but have learned a lot. There are a lot of folks on this board with good and bad experience, and they can help you learn a lot. Listen to these guys, because their experiences will help you. I know they helped me be sure to ask the right questions. A bad design/install will definitly cause problems.
I think the installer is the key - 10x more so than your tractor dealer being important. If you want to wing it, you can buy a geothermal system on ebay. If you really want it done right, I think you need a geothermal guy who can properly design your system and guarantee to stand by it. Get it in writing, so you have recourse if the system does not perform as promised. The guy I selected will back his models and designs, predecting my energy usage for the next 2 years. Before I signed, he gave me all the detail on his design for my house, loop temperature assumptions, safety (overage factors) etc. I am installing geothermal sourced radiant that also power AC.
I'll let everyone know how it works in 6 months. But anyway, even in my research and interviews here, I found a vast difference in the quality of geothermal folks. Some are former HVAC guys with a backhoe, and some really know what they are doing. If you soil and loop area aren't just right, you probably ought to have the expensive vertical wells. A good geo guy can tell you this, and make a site evaluation. If he hasn't looked at the soil before selling you a system, you're with the wrong guy.
Good luck. I'm looking forward to cheap bills and good heat, hopefully I've made a good decision.
During my research, I visited a house under construction to view an identical system. a 6 ton unit was heating a 8500 sf house with the front door open(construction workers in/out), comfortably, in 20 degree weather. Had been doing so the entire winter. Their loop field was 6 170' deep bores grouted with a thermally enhanced grout.
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Geothermal heating cooling
Ken,
You definitly got a drag of a system. Waterfurnace blew it too.
After hearing about everyone who had bad problems, I was hesitent until I saw many good, identical systems running, in my area. (less than 2 mile radius). We may all be getting hosed, but I went to see identical systems to the one I selected before I did so, running in the same area. My other recouse is that being radiant based for the heat, if it's really screwed up, I just put in a boiler and slave to the propane gods.
I guess I've done my "homework", and ultimatly, I'll still be in the hands of my dealer/installer.
My contract ties the last 20% of their payment to the successful performance of their system for a 9 month period. I figure it's at least a little incentive for them to make sure the system runs right and I'm going to run it hard then, cooking the moisture out of my concrete slabs. 
However, I owe my backround knowledge and healthy does of skepticism to John and Ken. Thanks for sharing your experiences guys, because it helps all of us be better consumers. When I interviewed my HVAC guys, I came loaded for Bear, and one contractor really stood out over the others when I started lobbing the tough questions.
Thanks again,
John
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