Debunking 3 Geothermal Myths 

I’ve had two GSHP systems over the last 7 years. The first was a retrofit on a conventional AC and gas heat system. Installer did horizontal boring to get the pipes into the house. Hit the pre dug hole perfectly! In my system the manifold for three wells was outside, only the supply and return pipes came into the house. When I built a new home 4 years ago, did the same system. 3 ton system with three wells. Used the same WaterFurnace System 7. 12 stage variable speed pump, compressor and fan. Also, takes off the waste heat and preheats my hot water which is stored in a separate tank. Absolutely awesome system! I pay less than a dollar a day all year to heat and cool a 4,000 square foot home. Eastern Nebraska. Last year total cost was $210. Couldn’t be happier. I advocate for it when ever I can.

We've been on GSHP for 10 years now in MN. 3200sq ft 4 level split and I have 4 closed loop vertical wells 200' deep. Gives us 4 tons of cooling. Electrical utility gave us an all-electric discounted rate so $0.05/KWHr. Dual stage compressor w/10KW 3rd stage electric strip. Avg monthly heating/cooling/hot water costs is $149. House is MUCH more comfortable and ZERO CO risk. We were quoted $12k for a 80% efficient natural gas furnace and new outdoor air coil vs. $24k for the GSHP including wells. With 30% tax credits we were looking @ $17k vs. $12k. Best decision we've made.

Mech Engr. Here: I have this installed in my own home on the coast of SC. One benefit they do not tell you is that your air temp. will be colder with GSHP and heating air heating greater with GSHP than conventional heat pump. Having done several geothermal systems I see a temperature rise in water temperatures when the units run for a long time such as either really cold days or really hot days. Transferring heat from pipe to earth or earth to pipe is a slow process even with the best improved grouts. Consequently, adding additional wells during construction is not a significant cost, particularly with Fed/State credits, and will improve the long term satisfaction of the owners. I would never, never, never, do one of these systems without an engineer involved. My interest is a system done right, and not profit for well guy or contractor. In the video, they tell you about the valves they put in. Where are the supply and return temp. gauges. Where are the pressure gauges?

Here’s another advantage. It doesn’t matter if outside air is 130 degrees or -40 degrees. The geothermal well will never know it. Amazing technology.

My house was built in 1982 with an open loop geothermal system. It finally malfunctioned in 2013 when the pump malfunctioned because the return well clogged up. I was quoted 5 grand for drilling a new open loop return well and new pump, but I still would be using a 31 year old system. I opted for a new closed loop system with 5 wells drilled in my yard. Around 18 thousand for the wells and system combined, and 7 years later I have a 2000 sq ft all electric home that costs about $175.00 / month year round to heat or cool. Best investment ever. The old system lasted 31 years, let's see if the new one does too!

2:00 PRICE 4:00 RELIABILITY 5:55 LONGEVITY

Thank you from Ireland I have geothermal heating 14 years now. Done it when no one believed it would work. It's been working great even though the installation contractor and the supplier left a lot to be desired. Thank you for the excellent video wish I had you guys doing the job.

Enjoyed this video. Great content. I did chuckle that the two builders are in jeans, long sleeve tees and vests... and the HVAC guy is in shorts and a short sleeve shirt. The content on this channel mirrors areas of interest and helps answer questions by having experts explain in plain English the systems and why they designed or completed the project the way they did. Always interesting - keep up the good work.

I love my geothermal system!! very reliable for nearly 14 years so far.

Anti corrosion properties and clean fluid are very important to note, not pumping fine sand will definitely make any pumps and stuff last much longer. Good video guys, thanks

It's so important to debunk the myths. Thank you for sharing!

I just built a 2000sq ft single story house with a full basement in northeast Pa. I had a 4 ton groundbed geo system put in for 25k. I did the excavation for the groundbed to save money. I got a 30% tax credit.

I have four ground source systems, three open loop GSHP’s on two wells, pump and dump at my shop (two buildings and office). Heating is in the floor with conventional air conditioning. The fourth closed loop with 2,000 ft of plastic tubing in a pond nearby for my 3,000 sq ft house. I buy the GSHP’s direct from the factory and subcontract the installation to the appropriate trades. My HVAC guy had never seen a GSHP before we started. Today he takes care of everything in the unit, my shop guys maintain the water pumps. Did my house first for half the price our local GSHP guru quoted. Fixin to make an addition to the shop, will add another unit to the one well. I will admit, Mother Nature gives up her water easier than what she takes it back. The first try was 75 ft of perforated 4 inch drain pipe which plugged up after a couple of years. Now I use a 125 ft trench 10 ft deep covered with 3 ft of pea gravel. The numbers I use are 1 gal per min per ton on the open loop system, 500 ft of 3/4” plastic tubing per ton at my house and circulate with 1/6 hp.

Superb presentation. This IS the answer. I have been advocating it for years. Both on small scale domestic statems, and large scale commercial systems. A couple of points. Less of the tech speak. The system is very simple, it is almost water mill conceptually. It is easy to explain in simple language. The more tech speak, the more complicated the perception becomes. System longevity. In a closed loop, it is only the pump which is vulnerable. One small part in the system. Your brief came across that the system will last for 25 years. In a more conventional sense it is the equivalent of "your gas central heating system will last for 25 years." Nope, just the boiler, the rest of the system could easily last for a hundred. I think you could have put emphasis on the point that if a turbine is installed it will provide free electricity, with hot water as a by-product, for the life of the turbine pump (25 years), which more than offsets the cost of the well drilling. I believe that as geothermal drilling becomes more common, it will drive the price down of the drilling operation. This could be advertised, not just as a way of generating home electricity and heating, but as a way of generating electricity and selling it, from your own back yard. An investment opportunity. I strongly believe that it is then that geothermal will really take off. Overall a great job guys. I will definitely be using your presentation as a reference.

Great video as always Matt but I would love to see the heat and circulation pumps too.

Costs have come down from 20 years past. I was involved with two installations and the cost were about 2 1/2 times over typical systems. I must though, the systems worked great. The wells were the extending cost. Glad to see this video.

Thanks for this video - I've always wanted to know more about geothermal workings.

I’d say that one of the biggest misconceptions is that it’s too complicated for regular HVAC guys to maintain. Apart from the ground loop itself, the components are the same. The only major difference, electrically and mechanically speaking, is that the condenser fan is replaced by a water pump, but it serves the exact same purpose.

I have a closed-open hydrid geothermal system in North Texas. It's been running since 2011. It's been super reliable. Nowadays I might not do it. But I'm so happy with my system so far. It's saved a LOT of money. I'm far enough south that I don't need any glycol or methanol for anti-freeze. I just run straight water with anti-rust inhibitor. I don't have issues with water fouling on the open loop part. I only run the open loop hybrid part in the summer and when I do I can cool my 3000 sq foot house for 100 a month in Texas. And my home was built in 95 and is very leaky.

Lou is awesome!!! Knows his stuff

This may be in the works, but for a video like this, a very brief overview at the beginning on how these systems work (and perhaps why you'd want one) would be helpful.

great video - some more on geo thermal would be appreciated

We have a geothermal system and love it. Typical electric bill in Iowa winter is only $120-150 (total bill, everything in house is electric). It came with the house so not sure what the previous owner paid. The only downside is that its very slow to make any temperature change.

My Trane closed loop system is 18 years old and still going. Worried about getting parts now if I have issues since they no longer make this system. My loop is horizontal, and my hot water is heated from it in the summer. 3200 sq ft in North east Ohio.

That's Ricks brother from Pawn Stars... 🤣

I replaced my closed loop geothermal with natural gas furnace last year. My unit was a lemon and the 10 year warranty was ending. It needed major repairs every year. The problem is there is not many hvac techs willing to work on geos so they charge a lot more per hour and not many options if you don't like them. Also, do homework on the price of electricity vs natural gas in your area. By me, the cost per btu of electricity is 4 times the cost per btu of natural gas. Even though my geo unit was 400% efficient, it still cost me almost the same as my 98% furnace. To top it off, my power company charges 50% more on the geo meter during the summer (a/c) vs the regular meter. All in all, it wasn't worth it to me.

Informative as always! Thank you

4800 sq foot ICF house in central TX, using a synergy Waterfurnace system to generate warm air, cold air, and hot water for domestic use (heating up water in a stainless steel tank with heat exchangers rather than a traditional water heater). The 5 ton synergy does all this relatively easy using 5 closed loop wells 250 feet deep per manifolded together. Also have a desuperheater function installed that preheats water in a dead tank prior to my stainless tank, and a 30 tube solar system that augments (but mainly allows a nice discussion with my property tax folks). System running 10 years now. I’ve had to replace the 3 junky original tanks with 3 new (and much better) tanks. One new coil, and a little issue with a coolant leak. Otherwise system does well. Here is what I would recommend if you are thinking geo.... 1. The tax takeaway is a good one, basically the government bought my wells and loops and I bought the rest. The loops last forever usually. 2. In a predominantly warm climate, your loops tend to warm up over time unless they are generously sized. The fact I have a desuperheater and also use my system to produce domestic hot water help out a lot in this regard. 3. My system struggles if I turn the set point on domestic water production past 118 degrees F. The wife wants a hotter shower but struggles to figure out the handle goes further left. What I’m saying here is that she wants the handle to be in the middle and the shower to be hot, but making 125 degree water then tempering it down to110 makes no sense. The efficiency of the system goes way down in that scenario, and will cause the system to pressure trip and require a reset. Over time she has started to understand how this all works. I’m poking on her but typical users and customers have these same thinking trends. There is some risk in heating water less than 120 degrees because of bacteria, mine is at 118. Do your research before you heat water for domestic use, but in my case it balances out the system annually esteem heating and cooling seasons. Additionally, the life of my components is linked to the frequency of hot water generation, so every time somebody runs the hot I wonder if that is costing me life on the unit. 4. I have 1 guy that I use to service and check my system. A typical a/c system can be serviced by almost any HVAC company. 5. In my case I have no backup system for making cold air. But I have a propane fireplace that can run without electrical amd at 36000 btu can heat a few rooms when Texas turns off the power. (We were lucky though and they didn’t at our house) 6. Now the system is 10 years old and things break. Pricing a new unit seems stupid when every component inside the case can be replaced or serviced. So how long parts are available will become a factor. Pick a reputable name brand company if this is a concern for you. 7. My system sits in an equipment room at ground level in a 1 story house. It’s pretty quiet at low compressor speeds and fan speeds. Not really noticeable. I could have probably used a 3 ton on a 5 well system, but my installer wanted the bigger fan in the 5 ton to move air. I think it was a good call. 8 with the outside air temp down near zero,my unit struggled in low mode to keep up, occasionally shifting into high, but I have no emergency heat strips in my system. 9. Having no outdoor unit is nice, and the wear and tear is way less inside out of the weather. 10. People think I’m weird. And if you put in a geo unit you will have to contend with explaining all this to people forever. But you can then look down your nose quietly at people that don’t “get it” and never had a thermodynamics class. My average electric bill in 4800 sq foot home for the first 12 months was less than 85 dollars a month. My neighbors in similar sized homes are 3 to 4 times that. While there are legit reasons to question geo, at the end of the day for a long term investment it’s way worth it, and again, the government bought me the difference anyway. It was a no brainer. Since then my entire family has all invested in them and nobody has uttered a complaint. 11. One more point. When you hire a geo installer, by definition they probably are better contractors and HVAC folk than you might otherwise come across. Not true in all cases but as a general rule these guys are pretty damn smart. That’s a big help.

Open wells are indeed dirtier, but do however offer a higher capacity and the option to have a hot and a cold well. (on different depths) That is to say, hot and cold storage. Which means that the temperatures are more consistent. A cold well stays almost all year on 5 degr. Celcius. A hot wel will stay on 25. (Only if your heating and cooling is balanced.) If one of them does run out, you'll get 12 degr. Celcius (or whatever the average soil temperature is). A closed well, is more like a open buffer where the temperature gets mixed, so at the end of the hot season your well is at 20 degr. celcius and you can't use passive cooling anymore. At the end of the cold season you can even get your closed well to freeze over, and you can't heat at all.

Sweet, this is going to be a big one for geothermal

I asked and you delivered. THANK YOU!

8:00 lou's face as matt over pronunciates his exit catch phrase. we feel you lou..

most of risinger's videos have a more or less "infomercial" character, with some having more information value than others. this is toward the low end on the information scale and toward the high end on the commercial scale. the only significant "myth" discussed in this video is cost. open well versus closed well is an option that you still have. the reason why you might go with an open well is to save money on the installation. the cost estimates given in this video are not reliable. i'm not accusing the people on this video of outright lying, but they aren't really giving you good information. for example, i considered a geothermal heat pump a few years ago, and i got a quote. the quote that i got was $45,000 (for an average sized house). one of the reasons why my cost was so high was that i don't have acres of yard space to lay geothermal subsurface loops. in my case, i had to drill wells several hundred feet down into the ground. my cost would have admittedly been less if i did have a big yard in which i could lay out a 100-150 meter long geothermal loop field. in general, air source heat pumps have improved so much (with innovations like enhanced vapor injection) that they are rendering geothermal systems obsolete, as a practical matter. that's why some companies are abandoning selling of geothermal systems. these days, you mainly see them deployed in "cost no object" projects where people are willing to pay twice as much to realize only slight improvements in COP values over air source systems.

nice to hear the differences in the new closed loop as opposed to the old pump and dump systems, Lou looks like he could drive a well casing by hand.....LOL

Stoked you decided to do a current geothermal install.

Good stuff as always Matt...builder almost finished with my basement home... been a year now.....Basement is leaking and looks like I may have to get a lawyer...so it may be another year...or two...

Lou knows his stuff and can back it up !!

The choice of closed loop vs open loop isn't as simple as he makes it sound. Yes, there are ongoing maintenance requirements for an open-loop system. However, the upfront cost for an open loop system is typically much lower than a closed loop because you typically only need one well _and_ it only has to reach the level of the groundwater. You also typically have an indoor loop and an outdoor loop, separated by a heat exchanger, so that _only_ the heat exchanger (and not your more expensive AC/heat pump) can fail when fouling occurs. One of the biggest problems with closed-loop systems is heat saturation. For example, if you live in Houston where you are running Your AC a lot more than you are your heat over the course of the year, You will be dumping _a lot_ more heat into the ground than you are taking out. Eventually the ground temperature rises and your AC can't cool as efficiently. This is much less of a problem with an open loop because the reinjected water flows and can disperse over a much wider area. In the specific case of this house right on an ocean coast with brackish groundwater, yes, a closed loop is probably a good choice. Open loop systems are also viable, you just have to be a bit judicious in where you put them. For example, Cornell University has an open-loop system to cool its campus buildings and they are looking to expand the system's capability to also heat the campus as well so they can be more "green". If you want more information on geothermal systems, Jay Egg is the person in the industry that is one of the "smart" people. He runs a geothermal consulting business and has authored a couple of books on the subject. He would be a good resource if you really want a deep dive on the topic.

Welcome to RI! I've only experienced one geothermal system in an office in Rhode Island. It was a combined system which integrated solar preheaters and geothermal. The geothermal NEVER made enough heat once the temps dropped below 50 and every hole in the roof from the solar preheaters leaked rain and snow. And, when it was cloudy, the preheaters were ineffective. The propane secondary heat would run non-stop from Nov to Apr. Glad to hear the technology has come along.

Very knowledgeable guys! Good video

I would love to see Matt do a video on the current crazy overly complex roof designs I see everywhere. How are you supposed to control water off a roof like that? What happened to the simple gable roof which made water management so easy? The gutter guys really have some challenges these days.

On year 21 of our Direct Expansion system (Closed loop R220) and loving it. On cost, however... The conversation there in this video is DEFINITELY deceptive. GHP installs are still VERY expensive. Up here in Canada, it is not uncommon for a closed loop glycol setup to go well past $50,000. You can buy a lot of other equipment with that kind of money. But regardless, long term, I think they are worth it. If you are going to or at least plan to stay in the house for a good long time, go for it. When we did our build, (Owner contracted my build), we were able to get all the costs managed such that our ROI was less than 5 years.

love the idea of geo source heat pump. With the prices of inverter style mini split units, still makes a lot of sense to go that route. There are new units as you know that will operate down into sub zero weather. For a lot of the country that is a better idea. For those areas that do see extended 0degree and below winters, Geo source make huge sense. In essence they can produce 4-5 times the amount of heating or cooling by using the earth as the real energy source to tap from. Deep wells are now able to be drilled at a much lower cost than even 5 years ago. It is a matter of supply and demand. As demand rises entrepreneurs are filling the need

Enjoying the show

An advantage that wasn’t discussed is it’s much quieter than air-to-air heat pumps.

I'm not sure if the tax incentives are still in place, but a 30% deduction used to be available. By what the gentleman said, it would pretty much cover the difference. I will stress the importance of hiring a driller/loop installer with local knowledge and experience. The contact between the loops and the native formation is most important. Voids will result in lower performance and efficiency.

Put in 8 geothermal wells 10 yrs ago here in western Pa. Cost of the drilling was 2K/well. Then ran them to two forced air furnaces plus a water circulation furnace (using pex in basement and garage floor). Best decision ever. We’re all electric in a 8000 sq ft house. Winter bills about $550/mo. Summer a/c is about $200/mo.

Interesting, thanks. I am wondering if one can use glycol in closed loop with air heat pumps into a geyser / heat tank that has heat exchanger elements

I think they don't usually calculate the efficiency (eg. seer) to include the pumping etc. that goes along with a geothermal system. I think most of the time it's cheaper and more efficient to go with a Mitsubishi minisplit now that they can run down to really cold temperatures...

So funny I never knew there is an open loop system. Been from Germany I always only used closed Glycol loop systems. But much bigger pipes. We ran 2" from the house as 2 pipes and than 4 - 8 times down into the ground to about 40meter so 120ft deep into the ground. because we used bigger well drilling it was cheaper for us about 50% cheaper because we could use Oil drilling drig Companies to just dill for us instead of the much more expensive Well Water crew costs. Haven't checked the numbers in the USA yet but I would bet here it's going to be also cheaper because from the permit and all process it should be half the costs because oil riggers have a much better Equipment and drill 3x times faster into the ground than well water small Equipment Companies.

Useful trades professional's experience!

If I ever did my farm I’d make underground water storage & above ground storage. My geo system would connect to 3 major connectors to my water system…one to the underground storage…an other metal above ground storage exposed to outside temperatures and my solar heated water system. This would allow precise and quicker control of the geothermal system that would do heating as well as cooling.

We just completed a new house here in Minnesota and went with a geothermal system. It would be helpful to hear the cost of the system and availability of tax credits from the government. Our system was quite expensive but with the credits and efficiency of the system, payback is advertised at about 4 years. Still find that hard to believe. We have a horizontal system with 11 loops. It was pretty cool watching the boring of the loops.

They talked a bit about the life of those pipes. What is the lifespan of them and the wells? It seems it would be expensive to replace since they are coming in through your foundation. Interesting to hear about the closed loop system and the maintenance benefits of the newer systems.

So great and cool to see

I've worked with exactly one and the biggest nuisance about it is it had a generator load shedding option - except it worked exactly backwards. it took about an hour working directly with the manufacturer to find out which wires I could cut and divert through the load shedding relay to make it drop out when it needed to.

Well compared to replace a natural gas furnace, it is 3x the price just with a air-water heat pump.

I still didnt understand what they was talking about..lol..but I love the points they made

I am new to watching your videos but I tried looking through playlists, but I'm looking to start working in construction and want to start buying tools, looking for longevity and good quality but also necessity, any beginner tool guides? Everyday items? Carpenter belt necessities?

If you try to avoid the costs of drilling and your space is large enough you could also go for a trench collector. It offers the same efficiency but at much lower price.

25 years WOW (Matt) ** My wife and I have been in the same house since 1998 - I guess it's about time to move or blow up the house LOL

What type of job is replacing a pump and how much would it cost ?

I installed a open loop in 2008, minor issues over the years, but overall I'm 75% satisfied. I was stupid and only had two quotes and went with the flashy salesman (who said they had installed "hundreds") and only later was told that the company had only installed two prior geo's. Our retro fit system, with well and ductwork done prior to the install, cost 28k, with a gas "backup" furnace. The hidden cost is the electricity usage, it tripled and we ended up surprised and angry at the time, but the system was in. The sting has worn off mostly by now, but research and get muliple quotes. And yes we had variable speed motors on our 2,500 sq. ft. house. The other thing--seems minor but isn't--make sure the contractor uses control systems that are compatible with each other. The geo contractor had so many different manufacturers involved in our system that we later (5 yrs), we had all the control boards and valves replaced and since then the system has been reliable. If you live in a hot climate, the air conditioning is by far the best part of the geo benefits.

Do you do thermal conductivity tests on the ground before you size your systems?

Matt, it would seem if you are building to passive house standards, that would negate a ROI on a geo thermal system. Or even take some fraction of the $$ spent on a geothermal and putting that into extra insulation would be a cheaper, less complex system.

Yeah. I got an estimate for geothermal for my house. They wanted $60k. My house is 1600 sq ft with less than 40k btu heat loss. It was about $20k for the wells. I don't know what they are talking about costs only being 50% higher than conventional. Maybe on these large jobs the cost to drill 4 wells vs. two isn't that much. If price is your concern, it's cheaper to get an air source heat pump. The increased cost of running that system is less than the drilling cost for the ground source heat pump.

I have a Geothermal system and I kept reading below how many square feet per ton. Here in Zone 5, 3600 sqft takes about 4 ton if reasonable well insulated and sealed.

Installed a Waterfurnace 7-series in 2016 into our 1850 sq ft ranch built in ‘88. Single 460’ closed loop well. There are no negatives to this system in my opinion. A friend of mine built a simile size house that same year and told me I was crazy. He put in a dual system, one propane and one coal. He was so happy he only spent $650 in coal the first winter. I heated and cooled for 12 months for only $400 and I guarantee his house has much better insulation.

How deep is the wells? In Sweden we usually only have one well or maybe two for a really big house in the northern part of Sweden (I live above the Arctic circle). We usually drill 180-220 meters (590 to 720 feet) sometimes closer to 250 or even 300 meters but that is pretty uncommon.

#1 Myth - Cost Doesn’t discuss cost. 50% more than “conventional” equipment. Describe conventional... are we talking 90% gas furnace (cheap and very conventional) or a multi-head VRF air-source heat pump (expensive and not very conventional)?

I always wondered if it could keep up in the extreme cold. My wife love my house at 78 in the winter.

We purchased a geothermal house in Houston that was brand new. The AC repair men were in our community every day for the five years we lived there. I had three Lenox coils replaced in five years as did many of my neighbors. These systems would always break when we went from summer to winter and turned on the heat. It was not a reliable system at this location at all. The beauty of the system was its very quiet and we don’t have that noisy unite outside. But reliability is the biggest concern for this equipment. Also keep in mind these are like a Ferrari. Specialized AC people have to maintain them.

Built one of these systems commercial back in late 80s with my Dad who designed it and I think it was 20, 20ft wells (he owned a well drilling company at the time) without glycol, just water. In the summer building inside was about 65 degrees and you had to go outside to warm up and cost nothing to run. It was closed loop, fused fitting with a heat gun device and redundant pump system. Odd that it seems that they are just getting to closed loop now and had open loops before, wow that was a bad idea.

We built 11 years ago with credits Geo was about 2k more for 5 wells 150 ft. deep over the price of 95 % gas.it was a no brainer. 2700 sq. ft. ranch , full basement. The best part of Geo was " where is your air conditioner?" Oh, after building the house we did'nt have any money left for air conditioning.......lol

I have a 3 ton bosch geothermal system and love it. 2600sqft house with 8ft ceilings, flash and batt walls ~r 23 and r50 attic insulation my electric bills average about $100/mo (everything in house is electric. No gas bill)

Something that they probably didnt think of is salt water intrusion on those exposed well runs. Salt water intrusion is a real problem in the northeast for owners who own homes near the ocean while using wells. The well water becomes contaminated by seawater which seeps into the freshwater water table and have to have remediation equipment installed. I wonder if these geothermal runs are rated for saline conditions?

That is a ground source heat pump not Geo Thermal. Two different animals. That said GSHP units are great however the cost issue of the wells varies greatly around the country. Here in North TX drilling 4 wells is cost prohibitive as those 4 holes will cost as much as a nice house.

When I see a video that affirms the preconceived notions I already had, I instantly click Like, lol.

I've gone to your Build Network website, and unfortunately, the videos there are not captioned. I could not check out the mechanism of the geothermal system there. I don't know who you use to stream your videos there, but do they have something like RU-vid's auto caption option? Thanks!

Great content

Dang that is one expensive home build!!!!

Geo is the best option for Coastal areas. No condenser to get eroded by the salt air!!! Closed loop isn't new... In fact nothing in this video is new with in the last several years/decades.

Having a basement below ground level is one of the cheapest options for many house owners. If one builds the basement to be used as a separate living area a family can rely upon the basement to be cooler in the summer and more resistant to bitter cold in the winter. So a family can plan to spend more time in the basement in the summer during heat waves instead of relying upon air conditioning. This uses the same concept of a geothermal heat pump system with none of the investment not adding to the homes value. Just my two cents!!!

Would it be possible to use geothermal in conjunction with a HRV/ERV? Would this be wise? or would this needlessly cost more for your monthly energy bill?

This Big guy is soo well spoken!

Lew. I wear the exact same thing every day. We could be twins sir!

Thank you Matt, Wade, and Lou. Very informative and interesting.

Matt, I am starting a design for my new house build in Dallas, TX. Would it make sense to pair geothermal radiant in floor cooling and heating with hempcrete walls? Definitely interested in both options but would it be a smart move to do both?

Geothermal should be the standard for new home construction.

i worked on a job near Vancouver BC, they just ran the lines in the ocean

Hey Matt! Love your show, been a subscriber for a while. What are your thoughts on pre-fab construction? I'm a mom&pop real estate investor with several single-family/duplex rental properties but I am considering developing on land using pre-fab to either sell or rent out. I'm hoping pre-fab would cut down on cost and simplify the process, but not sure what the realities are. Are there any pre-fab companies you would recommend that service NorCal and do you think it would offer cost savings for a developer? We built our house and we're not newbies to the process of building but are certainly not pro developers and would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!

I really want to do this but the Lowest quote I’ve received so far is $60k. Kind of supports the price myth. I wouldn’t recoup the cost in my lifetime.

Geothermal traditionally is paired with a forced air system, how now days they can be used with VRF systems and use the same heads as mini splits. Several manufactures even have means of providing domestic hot water, so in the summer instead of dumping your excess heat outside or in the ground it can heat your bath.

In the northern US, I think a “Geo System” would work well. Anyplace that the delta T is sufficient in the winter months compared to the summer months, these types of systems tend to preform better. With that said, these types of systems in the southern US, i.e., Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, etc. do not tend to perform well. There is not a sufficient difference in the winter months compared to the summer months. I say this because when I was a mechanical designer, I worked with an engineer that would push these types of systems, in Oklahoma, and they almost never worked. He would layout the wells, I would size the pipe and route it into the building. We would also use a reverse return system and the wells would be 350ft deep. Closed loop systems. But they never worked right. This was also 25 years ago. I made a comment one time about the well spacing and he showed me on his “program” that he had that after 3 years the wells would be so hot they were basically ineffective. I made a comment about that and was basically told to be quiet. It’s his money to fix it not mine, right. So... up north, I’m sure it’d work well. Just not in the south.

Wow! Back in the 90s there was a much larger PREMIUM! At +30% Geothermal is a no brainer. My electric company says my bill is half what they'd expect for a house of this size, age and construction. Saving money is certainly worth it, but my geo blow 94 degree air out the registers in the winter. Real warmth real affordable!

I have a question, does it take more energy to extract heat from this system over time? I mean, does the ground get chilled from the dumping back of the cold and removal of the heat? I guess using the system for AC in Summer would restore some heat to the loop area's.. I wonder if fridges and freezers could dump their heat into the system too?

How much $ will geo save in a hot climate like Austin?

Lew is real life Homer Simpson.

Thats crazy this video came out today, just earlier I was looking up horizontal geothermal systems, which is a technique I wasn't familiar with... and looks to be way more cost effective than vertical geothermal systems - in that you only have to put your loop just below the frost line.

Does this work with in-floor hydronic heat (no duct work)? Also does it work with horizontal trenches that can be dug with an excavator?