Posted: 7/17/2013 11:13:08 AM EDT
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Alright since my last thread about me selling our small hobby farm for a little bigger one, only to have the seller backing out 3 days before closing, and now living in a apartment til I find something else.
Did look at a place that the home had a Geothermal System, been running since 1981 the 2nd owner in the home now says he know nothing about it other then him and the first owner watered the garden with the water the exits the system, and that the air handler is original and should be replaced, of course even in the hot Florida weather his energy bills are very low around $70 compared to $200 or more on conventional air for the size of this home. A system that has been in use since 1981 is it coming to the end of its life. I know nothing about these systems other then low energy bills |
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The ground that far south (in FL right?) is actually in the high 60's if not 70's. With a geothermal system, you are drawing water from the ground to use as a medium for transferring heat, rather than air as used by an air to air system. The earth temperature remains fairly constant year round. So to compare, you are using 68 degree water instead of 90 degree air for heat transfer on a summer day in AC mode. That allows you to run the indoor temp below what you could on a typical air to air, where you would get maybe 10-15 degrees difference maximum between the indoor and outdoor temps. They drastically reduce energy bills, especially if it is an open well system like I think you're describing (as opposed to a closed loop). The systems today are also a lot more efficient than in the 80s, so if you upgraded it would be that much better. The biggest obstacle for a lot of people is the installation cost, because you're buying the equipment as well as paying for the well installation. |
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With what you posted, there is not much anyone here will be able to tell you. Typical lifespan can be 25 years or so, but there are many variables.
Do you have a horizontal loop system or a vertical loop system? What material are your loops? Are you running traditional 25% propylene glycol, or something else? Another poster mentioned that it sounds like you are using an open system, but I'd be surprised that wasn't specifically described to you if so. I'm guessing the garden was simply being watered with condensate... |
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Quoted:
The ground that far south (in FL right?) is actually in the high 60's if not 70's. With a geothermal system, you are drawing water from the ground to use as a medium for transferring heat, rather than air as used by an air to air system. The earth temperature remains fairly constant year round. So to compare, you are using 68 degree water instead of 90 degree air for heat transfer on a summer day in AC mode. That allows you to run the indoor temp below what you could on a typical air to air, where you would get maybe 10-15 degrees difference maximum between the indoor and outdoor temps. They drastically reduce energy bills, especially if it is an open well system like I think you're describing (as opposed to a closed loop). The systems today are also a lot more efficient than in the 80s, so if you upgraded it would be that much better. The biggest obstacle for a lot of people is the installation cost, because you're buying the equipment as well as paying for the well installation. Thats a much better description. I am just a layman when it comes to this. |
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Quoted:
With what you posted, there is not much anyone here will be able to tell you. Typical lifespan can be 25 years or so, but there are many variables. Do you have a horizontal loop system or a vertical loop system? What material are your loops? Are you running traditional 25% propylene glycol, or something else? Another poster mentioned that it sounds like you are using an open system, but I'd be surprised that wasn't specifically described to you if so. I'm guessing the garden was simply being watered with condensate... I'd expect that that unit could be replaced and the existing loop reused if it's in usable shape still. |
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I'd expect that that unit could be replaced and the existing loop reused if it's in usable shape still. Yes, an upgrade or replacement would be nothing major as long as his loop system is solid. That is where your installation costs really come in, at least around here in Rockbridge County... |
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If he's watering the garden with the leftover, it's a pump and dump-no loop. Quoted:
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I'd expect that that unit could be replaced and the existing loop reused if it's in usable shape still. If he's watering the garden with the leftover, it's a pump and dump-no loop. I'm not sure where the OP is geographically, but here in Virginia we have several standard systems that produce enough condensate to water a decent sized garden. |
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Quoted:
With what you posted, there is not much anyone here will be able to tell you. Typical lifespan can be 25 years or so, but there are many variables. Do you have a horizontal loop system or a vertical loop system? What material are your loops? Are you running traditional 25% propylene glycol, or something else? Another poster mentioned that it sounds like you are using an open system, but I'd be surprised that wasn't specifically described to you if so. I'm guessing the garden was simply being watered with condensate... Lots of homes down here had single-pass open systems but I don't believe they are kosher anymore. The nice thing about open systems was that you could easily measure the water flow and temp change thru the coil to verify you were getting the proper rate for heat transfer. I'm torn on what to do when I build since I see how God-awful they are in FL on big commercial applications all the time. Oftentimes they do function well in a single-unit residential application. More often than not, the water loop and its circulator give you headaches, not the unit itself (unless you don;t filter the entering water). |
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My parents installed a closed loop system roughly 5 years ago to the tune of $12-15k. Large part of that was digging/burrying the lines. I know the unit that sits in the house costs around $6k but should last a very long time, and the air that blows through the house is very cold. Their system circulates air instead of water (they live near the Lake Erie) in a house that was built in the 1880's. Their system also helps heat the home. Due to the house being so old it leaks air terribly, before the system was installed my dad was spending $400/mo to heat the house in the winter, now it's about $100 and the gas man stopped over 3x in a row and didn't add anything to his propane tank - they eventually replaced the tank cause it was costing them more money to send someone out and not fill it than he was worth as a customer.
He's very happy he did it as it allowed him to replace the 3-5 window AC units he was using to cool the place, it's just too bad they didn't do this until I moved out. That house would cook on a day like this otherwise (95+ and 100% humidity). |
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Quoted:
The ground that far south (in FL right?) is actually in the high 60's if not 70's. With a geothermal system, you are drawing water from the ground to use as a medium for transferring heat, rather than air as used by an air to air system. The earth temperature remains fairly constant year round. So to compare, you are using 68 degree water instead of 90 degree air for heat transfer on a summer day in AC mode. That allows you to run the indoor temp below what you could on a typical air to air, where you would get maybe 10-15 degrees difference maximum between the indoor and outdoor temps. They drastically reduce energy bills, especially if it is an open well system like I think you're describing (as opposed to a closed loop). The systems today are also a lot more efficient than in the 80s, so if you upgraded it would be that much better. The biggest obstacle for a lot of people is the installation cost, because you're buying the equipment as well as paying for the well installation. This is correct. I have a geo thermal system in my place that's 4 years old. Its a closed loop system with the coils horizontal in a pattern about 7 feet down. It has exceeded my expectations. It is vastly cheaper to run for heat than than the previous oil furnace. The summertime cooling is wonderful, we had nothing previously. It was about 15k to install. We got about 40% back in local and federal tax breaks. My only gripe is that the compressor hits so hard when it comes on the lights dim considerably. I know this is hard on the other household electronics. Despite various attempts by the installers and the power company to fix it nothing has worked. If you have cash and you're going to be there long term make the investment. |