The Actual Cost of a Geothermal System It's no surprise that when Gary Eschenburg (the owner of Ground Source Contractors) built his family's new house in 2008, he installed a geothermal heating and cooling system. And to demonstrate the money-saving benefits of the system, he decided to monitor his electricity usage and post the information on this web page each month. Gary explains: "Our 3,500 square foot home is heated and cooled using geothermal heat pumps. Not only is the house being heated and cooled (to 72 degrees for cooling and 70 degrees for heating), but our two-and-a-half car garage is maintained at 40 degrees, and the pad in front of the garage has radiant tubing for snow melt — all done by the geothermal system. Our electric water heater is connected to the geothermal system, too, so that as the system heats and cools the house, it also produces free hot water. "I've installed a product called The Energy Detective to monitor the electric use of the geothermal systems and the water heater, so the numbers you see here reflect the actual monthly cost of heating and cooling my home, and producing my hot water."         HEATING COOLING HOT WATER TOTAL NOTES kWh COST kWh COST kWh COST kWh COST Jan 2009 1,991 $260.02 0 $0.00 299 $39.05 2,290 $299.07 SEE NOTE Feb 2009 1,388 $213.75 0 $0.00 130 $20.01 1,518 $233.76   Mar 2009 1,294 $199.28 0 $0.00 231 $35.57 1,525 $234.85 SEE NOTE Apr 2009 935 $149.34 0 $0.00 209 $33.38 1,144 $182.72   May 2009 478 $76.96 136 $21.90 186 $29.95 800 $128.81 SEE NOTE Jun 2009 707 $115.95 403 $66.09 234 $38.38 1,344 $220.42   Jul 2009 511 $83.80 610 $100.04 210 $34.44 1,331 $218.28 SEE NOTE Aug 2009 601 $96.76 809 $130.25 191 $30.75 1,601 $257.76   Sep 2009 655 $105.46 129 $20.77 246 $39.61 1,030 $165.84 SEE NOTE Oct 2009 1,058 $169.28 37 $5.92 153 $24.48 1,248 $199.68   Nov 2009 1,026 $164.13 0 $0.00 20 $3.18 1,046 $167.31   Dec 2009 833 $149.94 0 $0.00 153 $27.54 986 $177.48 SEE NOTE Heating kWh 1991  0  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Heating Cost $260.02  $0.00  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Cooling kWh 809  0  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Hot Water kWh 299  0  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Cooling Cost $130.25  $0.00  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Hot Water Cost $39.61  $0.00  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total kWh 2290  0  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total Cost $299.07  $0.00  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec