4 ms·
"Geothermal is expensive because of labor, not necessarily price gouging." In my experience, this is true. Comparing the electric heat system from one HVAC con
by twothamendment 7y ago
"Geothermal is expensive because of labor, not necessarily price gouging."
In my experience, this is true. Comparing the electric heat system from one HVAC contractor to the ground source system I went with, there are a few expenses that are unique to ground source that start to add up. (USA - 2016)
$3,000 for the man and machine to dig the trenches and fill them back in.
Unknown - 2 days with a handful of laborers and 2,400 feet of pipe to lay and fuse together.
1/2 day to fill and purge the air from the pipes.
The equipment is more for sure, but I don't know an exact figure, but multiple thousands.
Overall, the 2 bids were about $15,000 different. Tax credits and even a rebate from the utility co-op made it close enough to a wash that I went with ground source and have been very happy.
When people ask about my monthly bill, the next question is "Why doesn't everyone do that?" I think many people don't care enough to deal with the sticker shock of a more expensive system. Another big reason is the amount of land required for horizontal trenching (there are other options, but this is generally the least expensive).
I also agree that if your climate is mild enough to use an air source pump, go for it. They don't quite cut it where I'm at (USA, just shy of Canada).