The five-foot-deep trench zig-zagging across John Aylesworth's yard could help him battle high heating costs this winter. Heating and cooling his treasured but drafty 88-year-old homestead in rural Porter County cost him close to $1,200 last year, Aylesworth said.
The five-foot-deep trench zig-zagging across John Aylesworth's yard could help him battle high heating costs this winter.
Heating and cooling his treasured but drafty 88-year-old homestead in rural Porter County cost him close to $1,200 last year, Aylesworth said.
"And I foresee the cost of natural gas going up drastically this fall," he added.
Hoping to stay ahead of the game, Aylesworth earlier this summer had workers dig the trench and install a heating and cooling system that doesn't need natural gas. Instead, it uses the earth's own thermal capabilities.
The geothermal system, which draws warmth out of the ground in winter and sends heat back into the ground in summer, should nearly pay for itself within a few years, Aylesworth said.
"If my figures are right, I'll save about half the original cost, which was in the vicinity of $10,000," he said.
Aylesworth isn't the only one looking for ways to reduce soaring energy costs as a run-up in crude oil prices, aggravated last week by Hurricane Katrina, has sent gasoline prices to record levels and likely will lead to a spike in home heating costs.
A recent report from the U.S. Department of energy indicates that home heating fuel prices could rise as much as 21 percent this winter. Last week, Northern Indiana Public Service Co. announced a typical home customer using 50 therms of natural gas should expect a monthly increase of $15.43 as early as this September's bill.
Soaring prices are stirring interest in alternatives to conventional heating and cooling systems that run on natural gas, said Barbara Wheele, co-owner of Crown-Wheele Heating & Cooling in Valparaiso with her husband, Tom.
"People are taking it much more seriously than they ever did before," she said.
Three inquiries about geothermal systems came into Crown-Wheele just in the last week, Tom Wheele said.
After 30 years in the temperature control business, the family-owned company began offering a geothermal system when son Andy came on board a few years ago, Tom Wheele said.
"He's the one who became interested in it," Wheele said.
Geothermal works by capturing heat energy stored in the ground, even on cold days, said Kent Kuffner, marketing manger of WaterFurnace International, the system Crown-Wheele installs.
Fluid in coils buried in the ground transfer the heat to a compressor that heats it up further and transfers it into the air, Kuffner said.
"We're using the earth as an energy source," he said.
Builders in Northwest Indiana are becoming curious about the system, Barbara Wheele said. "Though they're not willing to totally commit to it, they are definitely looking at it," she said.
Paul Sharpe, vice-president of Valparaiso-based Drake Builders, said a couple of prospective home buyers have asked about geothermal heating over the past year and a half.
Both eventually opted for conventional systems, he said.
But 15 years ago, long before the recent spike in energy costs, Drake Builders consulted on the installation of geothermal systems in two area homes, Sharpe said.
It could be the buyers were motivated more by environmental concerns, Sharpe said.
"Maybe they were making a statement that, in their own way, they were contributing to energy conservation," he said.
Conservation helped Aylesworth decide in favor of installing a geothermal system in his home.
"I watched the rising cost of oil and natural gas, and the future shortage of the same," he said.
"It seems to be we need to conserve all of that we can," Aylesworth said. "This system cuts back on the use of it."
Aylesworth held on to his conventional furnace for times when temperatures drop well below freezing.
That's an option in older homes, said WaterFurnace's Kuffner.
"You don't really need a back-up furnace," Kuffner said, adding the company sometimes does install a back-up, electrically operated heater for use in extreme conditions or in case of compressor failure.
Saving money was the main motivator for Don Keane, who had a geothermal system installed when his Jackson Township home was being built nearly two years ago.
Keane had been intrigued by the engineering concept at first, but a notification from energy supplier NIPSCO of an expected price increase was what finally helped him decide.
So far, the system has paid off, Keane said.
Electrical add-ons he installed in the 2,400-square foot home, including one that heats the garage floor, have changed the makeup of his monthly energy bill.
"But the gas bill is about 50 percent less," Keane said.
WHAT IS GEOTHERMAL HEATING? The system works by capturing heat energy stored in the ground, even on cold days. Fluid in coils buried in the ground transfer the heat to a compressor that heats it up further and transfers it into the air. During the summer, the system sends heat back into the ground.
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Source: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
