Geothermal heating and cooling systems are time proven, rock solid works of art that provide great benefits from every conceivable angle in a building’s HVAC system. Many ask, what might be done to reduce first cost? That’s not a question most mechanical professionals wish to tackle, primarily because of the involved nature of the geothermal exchanger.
While the building equipment and distribution side of the equation is reasonably predictable, the geothermal exchanger design can vary according to climate, geology and drilling subcontractors. A ground loop exchanger in New York City may cost twice that of an exchanger in Illinois. Much of the cost goes into drilling, properly inserting the pipe and grouting the boreholes, which may be $8 to $20 per foot or more depending on geology and location. And, just like the sizing of an HVAC system, no mechanical professional wants to be on the losing side of an undersized geothermal exchanger.