Eco-bling: Get out of my grill and seal up your ducts

Another bling-ish product is  geothermal (also known as "ground source") HVAC systems . There are big government and utility incentives available for installing these very efficient, and very expensive, systems that transfer heat from the ground or water into and out of a house. Geothermal HVAC can be more efficient than standard gas or electric systems, but there are two issues that make me question their value. First, regardless of how efficient the equipment is at creating heating or cooling, if it is not connected to a well designed and installed duct or pipe system, it won’t run as efficiently as advertised. And trust me, most home ducts are pretty leaky and poorly installed. Second is the efficiency and size of the house itself. Putting a very efficient HVAC system

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