Aeration, from most reading I'm doing is bad for geo...are you running an aerator in your pond? Still working thru my geo problems with the installers...
I don't think aerators or circulators are intrinsically bad for Geo. We have a circulator that in many ways functions like an aerator as both move water and a lot of it. The location of the aerator/circulator is what is important.
Our circulator is within 30 feet of our geo-loop. The geo-loop sits on the bottom the pond in ten feet of water. The circulator is in 2 feet of water so it has very little effect on the water on the bottom where the loop lies.
Would geo be beneficial in Arkansas? It's not nearly as extreme as Minnesota in the winter and we usually have HOT summers. We will start building our house this year. It will be about 5000 square feet, and we will be using foam insulation so the house should be pretty airtight.
You need to talk to a geothermal contractor in you area to get some idea of the potential. Once you have that, you can do your own research to determine what you want to do. Every situation/location is different.
It doesn't seem like geo should cost 2-3X more than conventional HVAC. It's not that much more equipment, if any. You have the cost of the tubing. Am I missing something??
Geo-units are complex and it is not inexpensive to run a backhoe (or whatever earth digging/moving equipment) for a couple days.
