Is there anybody out there whose using geothermal energy for heating/cooling their house, or who has any experience of houses with this sort of set up ? Just wondered what your experiences might be. I understand that in some parts of Canada you can get rebates on installation/set-up costs.

By geothermal, presumably you mean "heat pump" type system with exchange either with a groundwater supply or a large surpentine track in the ground?

My understanding is that although its very efficient, its expensive to install ($12k was a figure I heard mentioned) As I recall a friend had it in his old house...and he misses it in his new one. The guy who installed my central air has a newer heat pump system which he is very impressed with...but then he got his at cost and didnt have to pay for instalation A lot of contractors know nothing about them, so you might have to shop around a bit.

For the groundwater based systems quite high well flow rates are required, so its not an option for us, or we would have considered it.

It can be a bit marginal for winter heat output in ontario, my friends was suplemented by an electric furnace for the coldest days.

friend has it it in to heat house and pool, cost before $500 a month for oil
cost $89 for the pump - costs repayed within 2 years.
Investigate with http://www.geo-heating.com/

Another guy here just had it installed as the new house was built saved a fortune as the Contractors with the equipment where there and the extra digging wasn't that time consumng.

Its called geo-exchange in Canada, google it and you should find contractors. The cost doesn't surprise me - I think its around 7 K in UK

I think another bonus is it can provide summer air con as well

Gryphea

I have a friend that runs a system (alcohol based) on their farm. To make it work you need a bit of land. They said that when it kicks in the pump requires a lot of power (and the light dim) and is a little noisy. Also, these systems cool the house in the summer which is a real bonus. I would get one myself but my yard is tiny!

I heat my house on a friday-monday with wood and my bills have dropped by 50%. Even when I factor in the cost of the wood I am still saving $40 per month. Next winter should be even better than as I have a free supply of hard wood to burn

These guys are leading edge:

http://www.geotility.ca/

BC enviro-hippies, innit

Rich.

My only experience of geothermal heating is this place www.aquacity.sk which is where I'm going next week.

Went here once, it was amazing:

http://www.bluelagoon.com/

Iceland has amazing geothermal infrastucture, even the highways are heated using it, to prevent icing, and the electricity heats and lights the greenhouses throughout winter. Homes are heated with it, and geo produces most of their electrical energy requirements.

Rich.