In 2008, ELCO Geothermal retrofitted a 25 year old 2 story colonial style home located in Hampden, ME. The 4000 square foot home’s former heating system consisted of an oil fired boiler with perimeter hot water baseboard fin tube radiation throughout. The home sets on a rural 38 acre lot, so installing a new horizontal closed loop heat exchanger was the best and most cost effective option for the required ground heat exchanger. A two stage water-to-water ground source heat pump geothermal heating system was installed, utilizing two 3 ton Climatemaster model GSW heat pumps, and an 80 gallon Vaughn water thermal storage/buffer tank. The existing perimeter fin tube baseboard radiation heat delivery system was supplemented by (3) new 15M BTU fan coil units (primarily for AC purposes), and a 1000 square foot gypcrete radiant floor overpour of the main living areas (done in conjunction with a kitchen upgrade). Formerly, the home consumed an average of 1200 gallons of heating oil annually, plus 2 chords of hardwood through wood stoves located in the living spaces. After the geothermal conversion, the operating costs for the home were reduced by 62% or $2,900 annually.
