2 Vital The Hudson Valley Geothermal Heating and Cooling Considerations

1.     Front-End Costs vs. Payback

There’s no avoiding it: replacing your existing HVAC system with a geothermal heating and cooling system is a pricy proposition. Front-end costs here in The Hudson Valley tend to be anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000 – or higher. Lot size, site accessibility, system configuration, ground conditions, and other matters play into it. So too does the amount of excavation that has to be done and what kind of ductwork modifications are required. And if you’re building a new home? It’s not as pricy, usually, but it’ll still cost roughly 40 percent more than a traditional HVAC system will cost you.

Okay, we’ve gotten the bad news out of the way. Let’s focus now on the good news. To begin with, some sort of incentives and rebates may be offered at the federal, state and local level to help you out with installation costs. Then, too, the energy savings you could realize with your new geothermal heating and cooling system will help you begin to recoup your initial investment right away. So you could recoup your investment in as little as four years. But understand: Local utility rates and the end cost of your installation may slow full repayment for as long as 15 years. Because geothermal systems often endure for upwards of 30 or 50 years, though, you’ll still be ahead of the game. You merely have to calculate at the start what your finances can bear … and how patient you are.

2.     Geothermal Benefits Can Easily Override Any Anxieties About Up-Front Costs

We’ll list the top benefits:

  • Compared to typical heating and cooling systems, geothermal heating and cooling could slash as much as 30 to 60 percent off your heating bills. And it could decrease your cooling costs by as much as 20 to 50 percent.
  • Geothermal systems use renewable energy – heat taken from the ground.
  • Geothermal heat pumps don’t run by combustion, so you’re not endangered by greenhouse gas emissions (carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, etc.) and you have no fire safety or air quality concerns.
  • Because no outdoor fans or compressors are needed, geothermal heating and cooling systems are much quieter than conventional systems.
  • The absence of many complex moving parts and the fact that geothermal systems are protected from the elements pretty much guarantee many decades of low-maintenance, top-performance use. Indoor components may last about 30 years, ground loops, about 50.

Looking for a little clarification on any of these points in order to make a decision about your heating and cooling options? Turn to the The Hudson Valley geothermal pros at Verdae Geothermal. We’re glad to help, whatever you decide.