Costs

Tim might be upset with me sharing the costs,  but in my research it was kind of hard to find hard numbers and you should really know what you’re getting into before you waste people’s time.  The initial quote did not include electrician work nor yard work.

  • $48,500 for the drilling, ductwork, old system removal, and the ClimateMaster units.  Remember, our home was 4000 square feet and required two ClimateMaster units.  Your home, if smaller, could be less drilling and 1 less unit.
  • Roughly $2000 for the electrical work which was not included in the quote
  • Roughly $2000 for the yard work to replace bushes and rake and loam the damage property.
  • All this is covered by the Federal %30 Tax Credit!  (Credit not deduction), so the net install cost was around $37,000.

Performance and Savings

Early, but not complete returns are in.  Over the summer, compared to last year, it looked like I used 20-25% less electricity than the months of the previous year comparing 2012 to 2013.  My November 15th-December 15th electricity usage (3205 kWh) was about 2.5 times more than the time period last year (1300kWh).  Our total electric bill for this period was $320, so you figure about $200 for heating over that decently cold time period.

January and February 2014 were the most brutally cold months we’ve had in years and years.  Sub-zero  (below 0 degrees Fahrenheit) temperatures for often  days at a time and I don’t think we had a day warmer than 20F.  The system has 3 modes of heating.  Heating 1, which is ultra efficient.  Heating 2, which is full capacity, and Heating 3, which is auxiliary heating that uses additional full electricity to generate heat. The auxiliary, 3rd stage heat kicked in a few times when it when it was negative temperatures.  Still, with our geo system we were paying about $400-$500 a month.  Compared to the previous year (which was much warmer) we were paying > $1000 per month in oil for January and February.

Our total oil heating bill generally averaged about $4000 per year (October-April).  So, for a nice SWAG, you figure we’re saving about $3000 per year if you include the summer months savings too.  At todays prices, the pay off for the system is about 12 years.  BUT…Because my old system was so old and needed replacing anyways, I factor that cost into the equation as well, so the payoff is probably even shorter.