📊 Is geothermal worth it compared to a standard heat pump?

Deciding between a geothermal system and a standard heat pump comes down to upfront costs and long-term savings. Geothermal systems are incredibly efficient and provide huge peace of mind, completely ignoring extreme outside temperatures because they pull heat from 10 feet underground. Use this calculator to compare the true cost of installation against your monthly energy savings to find your exact payback period.

Compare the total upfront cost of a geothermal system versus a traditional air-to-air heat pump. As Garrett warns, if you are having somebody do it it could be very very expensive probably two to three maybe even four times the cost of what just a typical heat pump system would cost.

As Garrett puts it, if you can do a bunch of the work yourself that payback period is going to be much much shorter or in his case instantaneous. Adjust the costs below based on your installation plan.

Geothermal systems benefit from significant government incentives that drastically reduce your out-of-pocket expenses. As Garrett points out, when he did it the federal government was given a 30% tax break on this so he was able to write off basically 30% of the cost dollar for dollar on his taxes.

Factor in the federal credit below, and check your local utility providers for any additional rebates to help offset the high initial price tag.

Calculate your payback period based on projected monthly energy savings. As Garrett notes, for him it's only $100 per month keep in mind he does have a 5kW solar system offsetting some of that energy usage as well.

Warning: Do not install geothermal in a poorly insulated house. As Garrett cautions, if it's a hundred year old farmhouse well he doesn't think he would put this system in because that probably doesn't have any insulation in it. The system will run constantly and ruin the underground loop field.

Based on content by Garrett on The Challenged One (YouTube).

Original: Is Geothermal Heating & Cooling Worth It?