goethermal heating / underground heating

iplogger1

I was wondering if anyone on this forum might have
any experience and pros/cons for the various
emerging underground heating systems available
for a self build house.

We are looking at building a house of approx 2700sq ft
on an 1acre site in the West of Ireland.
I've heard folks talk about geothermal and I think I
understand the principles involved at a basic level.
However, most of the websites I've found are placed
there by vendors of such systems so I am trying to
get a consumer angle on how these systems perform
and how well proven they are and any scare stories
just to take the whole idea into full perspective before
I go talking to the providers,etc.

~iplogger

yop

Have a search on boards first, there have been a number of threads on the different types, if u have any more questions after that post them up and see what happens then

geothermal site:www.boards.ie

iplogger1

I see you are in Mayo also.
Thanks for the quick reply.

The only problem is ... boards.ie searching has been disabled
for months.

Usually forum searching is my first call when checking something
out like this.

~iplogger

yop

Sorry meant to say, if you go to Google and paste into the search box the following text: geothermal site:www.boards.ie

this is return all pages on board which have geothermal in the text.

iplogger1

Ok thanks Yop. I should have copped that, I've used that google
site search feature in the past. Nothing beats the internal search
facility which we all miss on boards.ie. Hoping for its rapid return.

I just started looking at your blog.
Out of curiosity how long did you have to wait for confirmation
of planning approval for your dwelling after your initial application.
Just curious. Our pre-planning took ages and the application
has been slow too.

yop wrote:

Sorry meant to say, if you go to Google and paste into the search box the following text: geothermal site:www.boards.ie

this is return all pages on board which have geothermal in the text.

yop

God, good question, cannot remember fully, as far as I remember we put in for it in Jan or this year and got it in April, so it was not too bad, but it was the hassle with the percolation tests, the the issues of where the house was positioned, it had to be moved left first, then back, then forward and then the back "L" shape cut off it completely.

The joy off!!! I am between Westport & Castlebar if yo wanted to have a look at the collector area, it is now dug out but no pipes yet for another bit

iplogger1

Thanks Yop.

I might take you up on that offer sometime.
I got a few useful links for the geothermal systems using google
and site specific search.
Looks like an 8 yr payback on investment seems to be a rough
calculation for these sorts of systems.

yop wrote:

God, good question, cannot remember fully, as far as I remember we put in for it in Jan or this year and got it in April, so it was not too bad, but it was the hassle with the percolation tests, the the issues of where the house was positioned, it had to be moved left first, then back, then forward and then the back "L" shape cut off it completely.

The joy off!!! I am between Westport & Castlebar if yo wanted to have a look at the collector area, it is now dug out but no pipes yet for another bit

KAGY

Quite happy with my geothermal heat pump, it's quiet, don't have to worry about the rising price of oil (directly) or arranging for a fill. only two problems I see with it is the same as any underfloor heating system: the response time is measured in hours! and the return temperature from it is about 45deg, so your upstairs radiators don't feel hot, you can comfortably rest your hand on them
My home is timberframed which reduces the heat up time as I'm not heating up a large volume of concrete block.
As far as running costs are concerned, our ESB bill for the year is running at about €600 (, I expect about another 150 will get me to the new year) that included drying out.

what ever heating system you go for, insulate and insulate again. In particular make sure the insulation is well fitted, and the house is well sealled against drafts. Consider not having an open fire, they can actually cool down the house, sucking vast volumes of warm air out to nowhere.

elli

Geothermal is far too expensive and altohugh your not worried about rising oil prices you will be worried about rising electricity prices. I got a quote for 16,000eur for a heat pump. |This is a ridiculous price considering im going to still have to pay electricity bills. I think irish people are being very naive about this system. Having recently completed a renewable energy course I would not recommend this type...it is not free as the sellers suggest
timber frame is the way to go and insulate as the other person said
wood burners connected to a back boiler and pellet stove will be the way fo the future.