Ground-Source vs Air-Source, How to Decide? Presented by Nick Pryputniewicz

In our final webinar of the June “Lunchtime Installer Series,” HeatSmart Tompkins invited one of our installer partners, NP Environmental, to talk with our community about important considerations to make when deciding if heat pumps are right for their home. The decision to install heat pumps as a fossil fuel alternative can seem daunting. Still, Nick Pryputniewicz, co-founder of NP Environmental and a founding member of the New York Geothermal Energy Organization, passionately believes that “Heat Pumps are for Everyone!”

Nick laid out the following as points of priority for most homeowners and future heat pump users:

•  Price – everyone cares about cost, and installing a heat pump system for heating and cooling or domestic hot water is not an exception for this worry.
  • Questions to ask: What is my budget? What rebates and incentives are available to me? How will switching systems enhance my property’s value? What would my payback period be?
• Carbon Reduction – When you’re installing a heat pump system, you are committing to carbon reduction for your home.
  • ​Questions to ask: How important is carbon reduction to me? How much carbon is my home currently emitting? How much would it emit with a heat pump system?
• Available Land Area – For ground-source (geothermal) heat pumps mainly, having available land is essential.
  • Questions to ask: What are my exterior constraints? Do I have enough available land space for a horizontal geothermal system? Do I have enough available space for a vertical geothermal system?
• Geology – Available land space must also be complemented with the right kind of geology for drilling.
  • ​Questions to ask: What is the geology of my property like? Can it support a ground-source heat pump?
• Disruption – Installing a ground-source heat pump will mean disruption to your home’s yard space. After installation, however, geothermal systems are the least noticed heat pumps around!
  • Questions to ask: What landscaping would I not want to dig-up (if any)? Am I willing to unsettle my yard for long-lasting, invisible comfort?
• Distribution – The distribution system that your home runs on is an essential consideration because it may need to be replaced before installing a heat pump. If it is in good condition, it may also be used for your benefit…or not need to be used at all.
  • Questions to ask: How is heat (and cool) currently distributed in my house? How old is my distribution system? Will it need to be replaced for me to install a heat pump effectively?
• Aesthetics – While aesthetics do not play a major role in the feasibility of a heat pump system in your home, it is important to recognize your aesthetic preferences and relay them to your contractor.
  • ​ Questions to ask: Do I strongly prefer an invisible system? Do I strongly prefer indoor, zone controlled air-blowers? How much floor space do I have available? How much wall space do I have available? How are other elements of the system going to interact with the components of my home?
• System Longevity –Geothermal systems have a longer life-span than both fossil fuel alternatives and air-source alternatives.
  • ​Questions to ask: How long will an air-source heat pump last compared to my existing system? How long will a ground-source heat pump last compared to my current system? How vital is maximum system longevity to me? 
• System Maintenance – By working with one of our installer partners on your Assisted Home Performance project, you are guaranteed system maintenance by the contractor of your choice after installation is complete.
  • A question to ask: Which HeatSmart Installer Partner is right for me?  

Not all of these questions will be able to be answered alone. It is never a wrong time to enroll with our program and begin getting home assessments by any or all four of our installer partners (NP Environmental, Halco Energy, Snug Planet, and Dailey Geothermal). You can enroll at the button below and have your home checked out on site or in person so that all of the important questions outlined here can be fully answered.

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Also in this webinar, Nick presented three separate projects he has worked on that, after prioritizing these areas of focus, decided on some unexpected systems that they love! You can watch the full webinar at this link.

You can find our other webinars, virtual home tours, and informational videos on our video page.

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