10:57AM | 08/11/02 Member Since: 08/10/02 3 lifetime posts I am
looking at a few options in buying a house. I have been looking
at a new house so should have options.  I have looked into
Geothermal and trying to compare it to Standard Gas Heat,
Electric AC and Gas or Electric Hot water.  One Builder has an
upgrade option to Geothermal for about $7000 - stating you
should be able to save $50-$100 on monthly fuel bills.  Would
this be true? How well does Geothermal work in HEAT mode and
COOL modes?  Can anyone explain how this actually works (I
understand pipes are put into the ground and fluid is pumped
through it - but that's all I know about this technology).  Any
assistance would be appreciated.   03:53PM | 08/11/02 Member
Since: 06/03/01 324 lifetime posts GeoThermal units use very
efficent heat/cool pumps. Normal units use compressed 'gas' and
regular heat pumps depend on the outside air temperature.
GeoThermal uses a liquid medium run thru tubes under ground so
the medium is pretty much a constant 55 deg