If you are thinking about upgrading your heating system, geothermal is a good way to go. You will not need to spend money during the year for oil or gas to heat your home, and those savings can really build up over time. Here is an example of one family who decided that upgrading to geothermal was the right choice for their home:
“We knew we had to replace our old oil heat system, and we were looking around for options,” said Hanson, a retired Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway clerk. “At first this seemed too expensive. But, when you throw in the rebates and tax incentives, and the fact we’ll never have to buy oil or gas again, it really makes sense for us.”
Hanson has a bit of a green side as well, and he’s happy to stop burning fossil fuel to heat his home.
The U.S. Department of Energy says 40 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions in the nation come from burning gas, coal and oil to heat and cool homes and buildings. Heat-pump systems already in place are cutting more than 3 million tons of carbon dioxide each year, the equivalent of taking 650,000 cars and trucks off the road.
If the term geothermal conjures images of bubbling hot springs in Iceland, that’s only half right. In the Northland, geothermal heat in the ground actually comes from the sun and is stored below the surface in the ground or water.
Hanson’s system uses water from an old well on his lot that’s at a nearly constant 45 degrees as the source of heat energy. While the science is hard to explain, the heat pump transfers energy from that 45-degree water and converts it into 130-degree hot air to heat the house. In the summer, the same system can create cold air to cool the home.
The basement unit is about the same size as a traditional furnace.
In Hanson’s open loop system, after the well water is run over coils of antifreeze, the water, about four gallons per minute while it’s operating, is discharged back into the ground to percolate through a gravel field. Closed loop systems use a finite amount of fluid running through large coil systems buried to absorb warmth in the ground. Closed loop systems, buried about 8 feet under the surface, generally require a footprint about twice the size as the main floor of the building, so a larger lot is required.
“This (open loop) type of system was more attractive for us because we didn’t have to tear up the entire yard,” Hanson said.
Hanson’s system, including work to expand his well’s capacity and install a new electric service board in his home, will cost about $20,000. But rebates from Minnesota Power and the state of Minnesota, along with a 30 percent credit for the system off his federal income taxes, will bring the price way down.
And Hanson will never need to write another check for gas or oil again.
“The payback is generally about five years compared to a heating oil system or propane, maybe a little more, eight years, for a natural gas system,” said Jeff Aili, estimator and project manager for Summit Mechanical Systems of Duluth that installed Hanson’s system. “Think of it as an investment, and the rate of return is about 20 percent per year. How’s your IRA compare to that?”
For Hanson, the new system will eliminate last year’s $1,700 fuel oil bill and trim heating costs to about $550 for this winter, all for electricity. Heat pumps generally use more electricity than traditional systems, although the water-heating savings often help make up that difference.
Moreover, Hanson’s system will provide cheap central air conditioning in the summer. By a quirk of physical science, many systems actually use less energy in the summer if they are producing cold air for air conditioning, Aili said.
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