Well drilling cost for geothermal heat pump
1. Anyone know a ballpark figure for getting wells drilled to setup a geothermal heat pump? 2. I've heard good things about geothermal heat; however, my knowledge is very limited at this point. I would like to put heat in my floor either in the form of tubing/pipes or an electric grid and would like to use geothermal cooling. Can a geothermal system be adapted so as to provide radiant heat in the floor? Are you on a small lot? If you have room, it's always less expensive to install a horizontal system (trenches roughly 100' long, 3' wide, 5' deep). Total drilling cost will depend on your system size and local standards; here in the PNW a 300' well with loop and grout runs about $6000 after mobilization, DOE fees, materials costs, etc. A 2500-3000 SF house would need 2 or more depending on your heat loss calcs -- if you know the tonnage of your existing system, you can figure about 1.5 tons of heating and cooling per 300' of well (can vary based on conductivity -- wet, solid ground conducts heat away from the loops much better than dry dirt or geological formations with a lot of open space in them). If this sounds like a big number, keep in mind the cost of natural gas and propane has been rising 10-14% annually since 2000, whereas electricity is rising at about 1%. Over the 25 year life of a ground source heat system, you stand to save a TON of money over conventional energy bills, replacement furnaces (most furnaces last 8-10 years), etc. Also, heat pumps work great with radiant floors; just make sure you are getting a water to water heat pump rather than a water to air (which would be for forced air). The only downside to radiant is that you will need a separate chiller unit to take advantage of the built in cooling capacity, whereas with forced air AC is included in the water to air version. And don't forget heat pumps can boost your hot water heater's efficiency too -- get the desuperheater option. More info at geoexchange.org, waterfurnace.com, geocomfort.com; my company does vertical ground source installations, feel free to shoot me any questions, and good luck! I am only in the planning stages right now, but my wife and I are looking at 4-5 acres. I have read a little about horizontal vs. vertical. It was my understanding that the ground temperature is more consistent/reliable deeper in the ground, so I had it in the back of my mind that we would probably go vertical. Expense aside, what do you think is the better way to go? We're looking at about 5,100 sf to heat and cool. I wanted to do radiant floor heating because heat rises. So, if I do water to water there's no way to way cool using that system? I would have to get another piece of equipment to do that? Would I be better off to just do water to air? I appreciate your advice and the additional web links. Do you know of anyone who could do the job in Arkansas?
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