Diary of a Geothermal Heat Pump Installation

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Diary of a Geothermal Heat Pump Installation

J & D’s Geothermal Diary

June 12:

The facts – we currently have a failing, air-source heat pump. There are two components to an air-source heat pump: the outside compressor and the inside air handler. Our house is 19 years old. The compressor was replaced ten years ago when the system was 9 years old for about $3500. The air handler is original, and has been leaking and making a terrible racket for several years. We’ve spent over $1500 in the last five years trying to keep the air handler limping along until the compressor failed. At 10-years-old, the compressor is now failing.

The primary reason for doing this diary is because when I was researching geothermal heat pumps, I couldn’t find any information as to what to expect during the whole process – from start to finish. I was warned that getting a geothermal was messy, very messy. I thought I was prepared.

Hopefully, when others decide to go green, after reading this diary, they’ll understand this whole process better, and find it as fascinating as I have.

** Links are included to the companies we thought did an especially good job.

June 12:

Diary of Geothermal Heat Pump Installation in Pasadena, Annapolis, and Crownville, MD and Surrounding Areas - Loves Heating & AirCalled the HVAC guys to come look at our heat pump. The coils inside the air handler were icing over. Needed 3 lbs R-22 freon. That’s not a good sign. Asked for estimates on both an air-source heat pump and a geothermal, ground-source heat pump.

How does a ground-source, geothermal heat pump work?
How does an air-source heat pump work?

June 12 – June 26:

Asked numerous friends and associates for recommendations for other HVAC companies dealing with either traditional or geothermal heat pumps. I didn’t want to go through the yellow book and take a chance. I wanted companies that others have dealt with and knew to be reputable. Called the six companies that were recommended most often.

During this time, we also did as much research as possible on the costs and benefits of both systems. We discovered that the life expectancy of the ground-source was twice that of the air-source. The ground-source heat pump has an EER of 30, while the most efficient & reliable air-source has an SEER of 16. (There are higher rated SEER air-source heat pumps, but the cost savings in energy are minimal over a 16 SEER, and there is a higher failure rate and consequential maintenance cost associated with them.)

As important as the cost factor was in our choice, we also wanted to examine the environmental factor. By choosing to go with a ground-source system, our environmental footprint would be cut in half. With the rising cost of energy and the increased demand for energy, we felt a pressing need to be more responsible in our energy consumption.

Some of our cost crunching included:

  • An online energy audit to estimate our actual electric bill. Compared the two systems with our current electric bills.
  • Air-source estimates: $1017.97/yr projected heating/air-conditioning/hot water
  • Ground-source estimates: $529.89/yr projected heating/air-conditioning/hot water
  • Air-source has a 10-year life expectancy
  • Ground-source has a +20-year life expectancy
  • Ground-source provides 75% of hot water needs free
  • Ground-source has half the environmental foot-print
  • As the cost of electricity climbs, the savings from geothermal would be even more significant
  • Air-source maintenance costs are moderate
  • Ground-source maintenance costs are low
  • Discovered that it would take approximately 7 years for the geothermal system to begin paying for itself. That’s +13 years of projected, drastically reduced electric bills!

June 27:

We decided on Geothermal. Specifically a Water Furnace Envision Series. We decided to go with Love’s Heating & Air, because John Love took the time and effort to really explain every facet of both the traditional and the geothermal heating systems. John’s friendly professionalism and his competitive pricing won our respect and our trust.

Started shopping for a home equity loan.

June 30 – July 4:

Received and compared home equity loan info from three different banks. Because we were out-of-town the majority of this week, and because of it being the 4th of July, this was sort of a lost week

July 7:

Made an appointment with K.E.B. Duct Cleaning for July 22nd to have our ductwork cleaned. We don’t want to put in a new system only to have years and years of old dust gumming it up.

July 8:

Met with John Love of Love’s Heating & Air, and Buddy Winslow of Winslow Pump and Well in our home to sign a contract for the purchase of our geothermal heat pump system. Buddy made some preliminary estimates of where the wells will be located.

July 9:

Stu from Winslow Pump and Well came by to mark and measure where the three wells for our 3 ton system will be located for the purpose of submitting the plans to the county for permits.

July 10:
Loves Heating & Air
Buddy Winslow called to let me know that they had hand-carried our request for permits over to the county. Now we wait for Miss Utility to mark all underground utilities.

July 15:

Diary of Geothermal Heat Pump Installation in Pasadena, Annapolis, and Crownville, MD and Surrounding Areas - Loves Heating & AirMiss Utility – Electric and phone were marked today.
Buddy and Stu came by after all of the utilities were marked to more accurately mark and measure the placement of the wells. Buddy Winslow … Very knowledgeable, very thorough and very personable.
TThe flags mark where the wells will go. We need three wells. One for each ton in our 3-ton system.he wells will be straight across our back yard. Each well is 15′ from the other.

Now we wait for the permits from the county.

Because of previous plans, we informed Buddy that it would be best for us if installation began after June 28th.

July 21:
Check arrived from bank. Deposited check and contacted Love’s Heating & Air to let them know.

July 22:
Diary of Geothermal Heat Pump Installation in Pasadena, Annapolis, and Crownville, MD and Surrounding Areas - Loves Heating & AirK.E.B. Duct Cleaning came today and cleaned out our ducts. Chris Richards did a wonderful job; another company I’ll be recommending.

John Love called to let us know that our equipment is in!

July 29:
The permits are in! Winslow Pump and Well will be here on Thursday to start digging.
July 31:

I awoke to three big trucks in the cul-de-sac, and a very large drilling rig in the back yard. I suppose I should mention now that our house sits on a lot that is about .15 acre.

In addition to the truck with the drilling rig, one of the trucks had all of the equipment, one had a water tank and one towed a trailer with a backhoe.

Jay, Rob, and Eric were the young men who did all of the work. I really was quite impressed with their knowledge of the entire process, and with their expertise in maneuvering around our small yard with so much equipment.

Breaking ground … Right away Jay began to dig a small trench next to where the first well would go. Connecting to that trench, and and accessible to all of the wells, he dug a very large pit. Water was pumped into this pit for the purpose of pumping it down into the wells as they were being dug. In addition to being a bit of a lubricant for the whole drilling process, the water also facilitates the removal of dirt, rock, clay, etc. up and out of the drilled hole. For the geothermal piping/tubing to have adequate surface area to either absorb or release heat, each of our three wells has to be 200′ deep. In a vertical loop, each ton in the geothermal system equals one 200′ well. We’re getting a three-ton system installed, hence the three wells.

I found the entire drilling process fascinating. There’s probably been something on the Discovery Channel showing how it’s done, but seeing it happen in your own back yard is definitely more realistic than even HDTV. If you take a look at the photos, I hope they capture a bit of what it looked like. (I’ll get the videos online soon.)

Jay, Rob, and Eric finished digging all three of the wells today.

JULY 31st VIDEOS
(Double-click to view videos larger on YouTube site)

The initial scoops out of the backyard 25 sec

Nifty video of the drilling process 3:08 min

Shorter video of the drilling – clay 18 sec

Drilling the second well 11 sec

Geothermal tubing goes into the well 3:53 min

Mixing up the QuikGrout 1:26 min

August 1:
The guys from Winslow arrived today, but didn’t stay long. They scooped some of the clay from the trenches down into the wells, unstuck the well rig and then left.
August 4:


They’re back! Jay and Rob started bright and early digging the connecting trench today, but the track on their backhoe went kerfluey. See you tomorrow morning!

August 5: