Geo Thermal Heating

[vesan87]

It seems that a geo thermal system would be awesome to have in a SHTF kind of situation. You only have to run a single pump right? Does anyone on here have and run one? I'm reading up on DIY systems and it's interesting.

 

[Wwwildthing]

WaterFurnace - Smarter from the Ground Up™

 

[Boiler74]

Two pumps, a compressor, and a fan. It uses more power than you think. You'd need a big gennie to run it.

 

[grimor]

Two pumps, a compressor, and a fan. It uses more power than you think. You'd need a big gennie to run it.

jut run it all directly off a windmill. of course no wind...

 

[Bill B]

jut run it all directly off a windmill. of course no wind...

Up to 9kw? Not likely

 

[jamin]

A Geo unit does not have to pull as much power as you think. Depending on the size of the unit and they type of loop installed on you will only need one pump which pulls about 1 amp. As for the compressor and fan on average they will only require a 40 amp breaker. So if you are able to run your furnace and A/C now, you will be able to run a Geo.

 

[IndyBeerman]

I think a pellet burning stove would be ideal, power consumption would be around 3 amps, and today's pellet stoves heating a 2200sqft home should only use about 1 40lb bag (prices range from 187.00 to 225.00 per ton from what I've seem) at about a 4-5 dollar cost per day on pellets.

I've got a 96% gas furnace as a secondary heating source and a 9.0seer heat pump as primary source and I'm still considering a pellet insert for two things.

Operation cost, it'll be less expensive to heat overall.
Low power consumption in case of a power outage so I can divert more power if needed to other things.

 

[grunt soldier]

I think a pellet burning stove would be ideal, power consumption would be around 3 amps, and today's pellet stoves heating a 2200sqft home should only use about 1 40lb bag (prices range from 187.00 to 225.00 per ton from what I've seem) at about a 4-5 dollar cost per day on pellets.

I've got a 96% gas furnace as a secondary heating source and a 9.0seer heat pump as primary source and I'm still considering a pellet insert for two things.

Operation cost, it'll be less expensive to heat overall.
Low power consumption in case of a power outage so I can divert more power if needed to other things.

this is pretty close but get one that burns pellets and wood in case one day for some reason you can't get the pellets you could still burn wood in it.

 

[IndyBeerman]

this is pretty close but get one that burns pellets and wood in case one day for some reason you can't get the pellets you could still burn wood in it.

If I get one it will be wood/corn.

That way I could use both.

As far as both pellets and traditional cord wood, I have not seen one that will do both.

 

[Bull]

I still love my Hardy

 

[rjstew317]

i priced a geo thermal system for my house 2 years ago and it was around $16,000 for the furnace and hot water setup. i'm sure with time you make the money back, but you better plan on staying in your house that long.

 

[jeremy]

We have done 2 of the houses on the Farm thinking of doing 2 more in Geo as well. Do your research, there is a lot to be said for the depth and length of the loop...

 

[grimor]

Up to 9kw? Not likely

you're thinking about it wrong. By directly off the windmill I mean directly, not generate electricity with the windmill then run a few pumps.

a gear box could be created that would turn each compressor/pump at whatever speed you need. You could even hook up a small gas motor for days with no wind. the water pumps don't really need to move water very fast for heating and cooling.

 

[ATOMonkey]

you're thinking about it wrong. By directly off the windmill I mean directly, not generate electricity with the windmill then run a few pumps.

a gear box could be created that would turn each compressor/pump at whatever speed you need. You could even hook up a small gas motor for days with no wind. the water pumps don't really need to move water very fast for heating and cooling.

If you're only heating/cooling with water, you won't get your house much above freezing during the winter.

Most geo therm units still use refrigerant and a compressor, but run the lines underground to heat/cool instead of through a fan. Much more efficient in the winter since the ground is much warmer than the air. Same thing during summer only vice versa.

Solar heating can be done with just water and a pump. Typically though, they add polyethylglycol to the mix to keep it from freezing. Hurts the Thermal coefficients, but "hard" water doesn't flow so well, and is murder on the pipes.

 

[Bill B]

you're thinking about it wrong. By directly off the windmill I mean directly, not generate electricity with the windmill then run a few pumps.

a gear box could be created that would turn each compressor/pump at whatever speed you need. You could even hook up a small gas motor for days with no wind. the water pumps don't really need to move water very fast for heating and cooling.

ok, makes much more sense.

 

[jamin]

16,000 seems high for a Geo if you already had the duct work installed. The last I checked replacing a gas furnace and A/C with a Geo had a 5 year payback.

I don't think that the windmill tied directly to the pumps would be a convenient method. It is without question thinking outside of the box which preparing is all about. The loop pumps only pull around 1 amp when running, which is not that much.