Part 2 of Going Geothermal in Massachusetts (read Part 1 here)

Why it may be important that you...

...have access to cash at low interest (e.g. savings) of $20K-$30K

Hey, it's not free. It's an investment. At our house we had to come up with about $22K in personal up-front cash for our 3-ton (a measure of heating capacity) installation, plus we took a MassSave-coordinated $15K, zero-interest, seven-year loan.

After taxes and figuring in the net present value of the free loan, we figure it cost us $24,000. If we had already had the ductwork, it would have cost about $6K less.

...have a house lot large enough to allow a well or excavation

To do geothermal, you have to get in touch with the earth. You do this in your yard (not the basement)! Wells are the less intrusive means of doing this, but more expensive.

The alternative is a horizontal field of buried pipe, and for that your installer will need to excavate an area very roughly the size of a tennis court to about 10' deep. In any case, depending on your town you'll probably need a 20' to 30' setback from the property line from the work, 50' from a drinking water well, and some respectable distance from a septic system.

If you are using wells, say 2-4, you'll need at least 20' between them.

...have federally taxable income

The big, big win with geothermal is the 30% federal tax credit. (Note that this is an amount which is taken off the taxes you owe, not your taxable income, so you get this money back with your tax return.) If this 30% amounts to, say, $13K, you need to owe at least half that much in taxes this year and next. Or, you can take it all in one year.

...value the highest home energy efficiency possible

Geothermal is a substantial up-front investment, so it had better deliver long term savings through efficiency. Folks with a global or patriotic conscience also get value from efficient use of fuel.

The absolutely most efficient way to heat your house is to use no fuel (or electricity) at all -- by using solar heat; but that's still a serious construction challenge in the northeast US. If you're building a new home, by all means look into it.

Of all the other ways to heat your house, geothermal is the most efficient. New furnaces may get you 90-95%, but nothing comes close to the 300%-400% geothermal gives you. Don't believe it? See my article on the magic of geothermal.

...prefer to not burn fuel in your home for environmental, health, convenience or safety reasons

One of the advantages of geothermal that you may value is that it is clean. Nothing is being burned in your house; there are no gasses, odors or spills to worry about.  My wife and I for 20 years carried wood to our slightly-too-passive-solar home, for reasons of economy, exercise, and sustainability. Over the years we  noticed that our overnight sinus headaches related directly to the wood burning. Carrying and stacking wood is also a risk to my back and frankly a pain in the anatomy. Now overnight sinus headaches are a rarity.

...accept a 5-15 year payback on investments (for instance, a 10% long-term rate of return)

Geothermal is a long-term investment with a moderate and consistent rate of return. If you are out of pocket $18K and save $1800 a year at current rates on heating and cooling, you're looking at roughly a ten-year payback. A precise number is elusive because It depends on how accurately you want to do the math, and what assumptions you make about various inflation rates.

...value predictability and low inflation in energy costs (for instance, if  you are on a fixed income)

If you're buying petroleum-derived fuel now, you've noticed how wildly it has varied in price. Electricity, which is what geothermal runs on, is one of the most stable energy sources and has a comparatively low inflation rate. To the extent that you are on a fixed income or at the top of your salary range, this predictability has value to you.

Many other factors affect the desireability and cost of geothermal for your home. Ask me.

I'm not an expert or an installer, but  feel free to email me below with any and all questions on these or other issues. In addition, if you would like to arrange for a professional installer to assess your home for geothermal, let me know that in the checkbox.

Email Dave...