Hello, I'm hoping to build someday and in the meantime am interested in doing as much research as possible. It seems to me that using a geothermal system to provide heating and cooling is a very efficient way to go. Given the small amount of energy required, I would think that relying on solar power would be a good, green-friendly means of providing the electricity for the geothermal system as well as the home overall. And yet, I cannot find anything on the internet that discusses this combination. Do I just not know where to look or is there some reason that this is inadvisable? Can anyone point me to resources that discuss this combination or fill me in on the viability of it?

Many thanks!

Chad

Most likely you will not find this combo. Reason being they are two seperate systems that are diffrent.

But yes using a solar power grid to drive the geo-thermal system would be a good idea as long as you will have a large enough system to run the compressors and fan units. Enough southern exposure to feed the panels with light.

Many factors go into the sizing of both the electrical power system as well as the heating and cooling. One of them being how large will the home end up being? If its large then it of course will require additionial power and HVAC. Thus the need for larger roof panels or area in which they can be set.

But really to answer your question. Yes you can combine the two. It makes perfect sense to do so.

The only thing you need to understand is that your systems will be expensive to install. Even with rebates etc. You overall pay back will depend on how much your going to rely on the grid system or the solar power. But you should be able to determine this once you have a sufficent layout of the home you disire to build, location of the home and a qualified electrical contractor who installs solar systems.

To find these folks, try the electrical supplier in your area for names of folks who do this . Same goes for the HVAC people. They would be the best people to consult on this. In fact the solar people will most likely know of geo-thermal contractors to suggest.

I doubt that you will find a large enough storage system to drive the heatpump. I am a strong believer in geothermal systems and think it may have merit depending on your location and the size home you intend to build.
I would suggest that you begin by interviewing archetects that have experience with passive solar structure design. This coupled with a high quality HVAC (pay close attention to the "V") and an available active solar panel strategy will meet your goals. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Thank you for the responses.

Just to be clear, I have no intention of relying exclusively on solar power, but will likely elect to be connected to the grid and hope that my net energy costs will be minimal (or even a small money-maker if possible!).