Groton Local Energy Seminar Series # 7:

Geothermal Energy to
Heat Our New Home

09-Apr-08
By Lynwood Valentine Prest, P.E.

Presentation available at:

http://grotonlocal.org/seminar.shtml
Email: vprest@gmail.com
 Val and Wendy Prest’s New
Home in Groton, MA
• Heavily-insulated
• Uses Geothermal
Energy for its HVAC
• Designed and
decorated by the
home owners
• Builder: Shawn Boyd
– Boyd Building, LLC,
Jaffrey, NH
 TIGHTNESS & INSULATION
• Critical, no matter what fuels & HVAC equipment used
• Insulate roof or attic - R=30 or better. Ours is R=50.
• Insulate exterior walls, doors and windows - R=20 or better. Ours is
about R=27.
• Insulate around penetrations through roofs, attics & exterior walls
with spray-on foam
• Around doors, windows, pipes, ducts, electrical items, etc.
• NO fireplace so no chimney and flue
• Insulate sills atop foundations with spray-on urethane foam
• Obtain lowest possible Energy Star Rating. They measure air
leakage rates.
• 0 to 100 w/ max at 85 to obtain Energy Star rating
• Our house came in at 44
 Other Factors
• VENTILATION
– Necessary because house is so tight against
air leaks
• LIGHTING & APPLIANCES
– Energy Star to minimize electrical usage and
heat generation
HVAC with Water Filters
Geothermal Water Piping
Ven Mar Energy Economizer
 Geothermal Heating System
• Design: Water Energy Distributors, Inc., Hampstead, NH
– Uses their standing-well concept, a single water well that serves
for both domestic use and geothermal energy.
• Furnished & installed by Bill Wenzel Heating and Air
Conditioning, Inc., Merrimack, NH
– Tranquility system with a 40-gallon water storage tank and a
separate 80-gallon water heater tank
– Ven Mar energy recovery ventilator
– 240V ultraviolet germicidal lamp
– 2 separate zone-damper panels.
• Installation included:
– Ductwork and grilles
– Insulation of exposed ductwork.
• COST, including installation: $33,985
 Water Well
• Single well for both geothermal energy and domestic use

– Water line splits just inside the house.

– One line goes to the heat exchanger of the geothermal system
– Other line goes to the domestic water system
• Heat exchanger utilizes 35 gpm of water to obtain heat
and cooling energy
– Incoming water stays about 49 to 50 degrees F all year
• Well, originally designed for a depth of 700 ft., stopped at
300 ft. upon encountering a 400 gpm aquifer

• COST= $10,505
 Economic Analysis
- Installation -
• Cost for geothermal
– Cost of system: $33,985
– Cost of well: $10,505
– Total cost: $44,490

• Cost of conventional alternative:

– Cost of water well: $4,500
– Cost of oil/gas-fired HVAC system: $19,000
– Total cost: $23,500

• Additional cost for geothermal: $20,990

 Other Decision Factors
• Entire lot (less than 1/4 acre) is within the 100
foot buffer zone from the lake’s edge.
• We did not want oil on the property, and it is
expensive anyway.
• We have little to no room for a large propane
gas tank.
• Coal and wood fired systems are labor intensive,
messy on cleanup, and needs waste disposal.
• Electrical resistance heating is too inefficient and
expensive to operate.
Actual Operational Costs for
Electricity
Month of Bill Amount of Bill
*8/2007 23.14
9/2007 124.09
10/2007 168.29
11/2007 155.52
12/2007 155.25
1/2008 258.19
2/2008 346.38
3/2008 342.73
TOTAL 1,598.04

Supplier: Groton Electric Light

 Comparison with Operational Cost
for Conventional Oil Alternative
• Heating with oil:
– Estimated gals. per month: 253.3
– Est’d $ per month at $3.46/gal: $876
• Non-heating electricity per mo.: $124
• Total est’d for oil + electric per mo.: $1,000
• Total est’d for oil + electric per yr.: $5,871
• Est’d total electric for geothermal/yr.: $2,278
• Net savings per year: $3,593
• Time to recover excess capital costs: 6 years
Bill’s