Duh… Makes a lot of sense. If you only need to heat something 10-15 degrees (water temp around 55 degrees 30 feet) vs 30-50 (air temperature) degrees, it makes sense that it would take less energy to do it. That is my simple logic for geothermal energy. I was aware of it’s widespread use in Iceland, but wasn’t aware there was a residential system. At least one that seems to be getting some traction. From my limited research it seems like this company gets the most press.
Costs look like 30% more than traditional system. In my home I would get that back in a few years with savings from my oil-furnace system.
http://waterfurnace.com/comfort_systems.aspx
We should consider incentives for builders to incorporate this into their building plans. If you were building a trac of McMansions, with underground facilities for power, sewer, water, what kind of work are we talking about to do put closed loop geothermal systems in place for the houses to share? Seems to me all the equipment is there, if planned out the way the other underground systems are planned, this could be done for less money.
