Which is better, geothermal or heat pump for an old stone house?
I live in a large stone house built in 1850. I live in southern Ontario. It is over 3000 sq ft. It is not very energy efficient but because of its original construction there may be a limit of what I can do in terms of insulation or sealing of the house. I was looking at putting in a heat pump but am now wondering if a vertical geothermal system would be a better idea? I have a drilled well but I am on a hill so am not sure if the drilling for the geothermal system would need feasible but since I already have a drilled well I hoped that maybe it would work. I may run the home as a bnb.
Hoping you can give me some input. Thank you, Carrie
You are right to be exploring heat pumps for old stone houses as adding insulation is often a very tricky situation. This page discusses the topic and options thoroughly -
How to improve the energy efficiency of an old stone house: should you insulate it?
Geothermal systems are themselves a heat pump as well (you may know this), they are known as 'ground source' rather than 'air source'. Here is a great page to learn the difference and help you choose -
Air source heat pumps vs. geothermal heating: which is better for your home?
As for costing each system, the existing well you have will not save you money as the heating system needs to be independent from well water. I think your best bet is to get contractor quotes for each system, but I suspect an air source heat pump (ASHP) may win our for cost since the upfront cost of geothermal can be quite prohibitive.
The constant temperatures of ground water is an advantage, but due to the heavy upfront costs it has been our experience that you need a pretty big building to make that added investment worthwhile.
Here are other pages that may help -