Camille ;

We just finished in ground thermal on this old house ;(balloon Frame) 
traditional peaked metal roof large dog trot with wrap around porch off the ground 
see(French Caribbean ) or something called Bousilage; 4,000 sq ft if you add the 
attic space .
We had to spray foam the underneath then spray the roof interior and make 
spray walls that enclosed the attic from where the peaked roof carried over the 
porches 

The thermal unit itself  was 8 -200yd trenches cut across the pasture 6 ft 
deep of circulating water (this can be dug also in verticle wells) that feed a 
heat pump that feeds the house on aa computer style thermostate .
Our house before was very drafty in a cold wind , now it is sealed very tight 

So far our heat bills have dropped from $600 +in winter to $100 +

Was it worth it ? Dollars and cents ....yes and no  Spray $10 K thermal $15 k 
carpentry calking ; labor 5k  or about 30k which was about 8 k over budget 
 So for that money we could have easily carried on here as beforw but energy 
rates have been and are still going up 
summer will be the real cost saving  test  we hope to save 2 .5k a year in 
heating and cooling so 12 yrs to make up the investment ..but the real worth 
besides the low bill is the worth it has added to the house if we were to sell it 
.You show that low electric and gas bill and that puts your house as very 
desirable to buy ...not that p=nut will ever agree to it  .
I think for historic house collections its worth looking into ....then ask 
the mrs for the rest of the story ...Py
 


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