Geothermal (San Antonio, Anton: HOA, house, heat pump)

[scrubalinda]

Hi, anyone here in San Antonio (or nearby) user geothermal to cool/heat your home? Do you like it? Is it cost effective? Who did you use? Did you do solar power too, or does it even make sense to do both?

[Bo]

Geothermal probably wouldn't work well in most of SA, particularly on the north side, because the soil is very thin atop a thick layer of limestone. Jackhammering is common for swimming pool installations here.

That's why solar and wind power are the most common alternative energy sources in Texas.

[Dopo]

I still can't believe that San Antonio is so far behind in solar power.
1/2 of the year you can cook a steak on the hood of your car.

[RoamingWolves]

Use of GeoThermal or a Heat Pump is going to depend on what part of town you are in. If you are on top of the Aquifer you are going to meet more restrictions when it comes to drilling.

[Bo]

Originally Posted by Dopo

I still can't believe that San Antonio is so far behind in solar power.
1/2 of the year you can cook a steak on the hood of your car.

Solar isn't cheap! It costs over $30,000 to put solar cells on the average home and tie them into the grid. Most people don't that kind of cash lying around.

You'll probably be happy to hear that Solar San Antonio expects to do about 2,000 home solar projects this year.

[Rustybolt]

This isn't a good area for geothermal heat exchange. I lived in Florida a couple of years ago and had a geothermal heat pump on my house and it provided heat and cooling. In the summer it also heated my hot water. The system worked super awesome. The difference, however, is that we had sandy soil with a very high water table that was perfect for heat exchange. That isn't the case here in San Antonio, so you wouldn't be able to achieve the same levels of heat exchange and consequently the efficiency that comes with it. Hope this helps!

[reddirt]

Well, my Gawd... down there they use the good, hot yellow sun from God. It's so hot that the heat lasts all winter. Mother nature heats Texas, that' s a true fact. We don't need none of that meltdown nuclear stuff... why just look at Japan and all the stuff floating over their air. People need good old fashioned woodpiles like the old daze.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by Bo

Solar isn't cheap! It costs over $30,000 to put solar cells on the average home and tie them into the grid.

That's not the only way to use solar energy.

[RoamingWolves]

Keep in mind that the individuals that could afford to put in solar are facing HOAs that pretty much refuse to allow that stuff on your roof.

I know I read recently there was a law trying to be passed to force the HOAs to allow solar power systems or even solar water heaters to be installed on roofs regardless of HOA rules.

We have friends and their HOA bans any of that stuff from being installed on the roof. Apparently being energy conscience is bad for neighborhood property values.

[Bo]

Originally Posted by Dopo

That's not the only way to use solar energy.

I'll grant you that those are feasible and less expensive than solar collectors, but what kind of return do they provide on the investment? Putting roof-warmed water into our water heaters isn't going to reduce the big electric bills we get here in the summer. That's the kind of savings people are looking for, IMO.