Ground Loop Heating & Air Conditioning Inc

I had a very difficult experience with ground loop and unfortunately can not recommend them. Although initially the project was going well, they did not fulfill the project as we discussed and did not install the proper equipment for functioning of the internet monitoring symphony system for the water furnace geothermal in our main house and did not setup the symphony system in our secondary structure system. In addition, it was very difficult to schedule work with them and the project took much longer than expected to complete.They only came out to finish the work properly when we withheld their final payment for incomplete work. Then after completing the work I promptly provided the payment only for them to refuse to provide the final rebate documents needed for the tax credits for state and federal and my state renewable energy credits filing in an attempt to extort me for additional money beyond what we agreed for the project. They have also refused to provide appropriate warranty/maintenance services related to their installation which does not appear to be cooling properly in the main house just months after installation due to a leak they caused. Needless to say, this was a horrible experience and although they seem to be skilled professionals I do not view them as honest business people and therefore would recommend to stay away. I myself will not be doing additional business with them.

From the initial estimate appointment, through the install, and both maintenance visits they were on time or early. They completely cleaned up at the end of each work day. After 18 months of use I have no complaints and I'm saving approximately 40% per month on my BGE bill. I highly recommend using Ground Loop for your HVAC work

I was very happy with the end result. They ended up going way over the timeline that they had given me, but they did make it right. At the end of the day, I was very happy with the end result. If you are considering getting a geothermal system, you definitely want to check out Ground Loop Heating & Air Conditioning.

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The installation went extremely well. Only one day of digging in the yard to install the ground loops. We had two units installed in the house, one in the basement and one in the attic, which took a bit over two weeks. The Ground Loop team members were extremely knowledgeable about their products. They were very courteous and professional. They arrived on time and cleaned up any messes they made. If you want a geothermal system, Ground Loop is the company to call.

Overall I am extremely happy with the services offered by Ground Loop Heating and Air Conditioning. I have an older home (built in 1928) and it still had steam radiators and no air conditioning besides window units. This was a very large job, involving retrofitting the home with ductwork to heat and cool every room, remove the old boiler unit, and install the geothermal unit and ground loops. To complicate matters, the home has a completely fenced yard that limited grounds access to dig the loops, and the city permit office has constrictive rules on where you can dig the holes in reference to other properties.

The estimator/project manager, Jason, was very easy to communicate with and I always felt he was being upfront with me on the status of the project. His office staff was also very communicative and even helped with the rebate process to ensure I received all the possible rebates. Great Stuff!

The installers were professional and did extremely quality work. The city inspector even commented on how well the ductwork was installed. There was an electrical sub-contractor (I didn’t catch the name), but they were efficient and professional.

There was also a sub-contractor that dug the wells, Allied well drilling. Their employees were professional and courteous, but it did not seem that the on-site personnel were empowered to make decisions. This did lengthen the timeline of the project.

That is not to say this was a perfect project, but I can say empathically that Ground Loop went above and beyond to complete the project with no increase in price, despite several unforeseen issues..

All in all I was very happy, but I do have some things to consider if you are considering a geo-thermal system :

The project went well over the projected timeline. While this was not an issue for me (if a bit frustrating), if that is an issue for you, you may want to negotiate some timeline penalties with them before you sign a contract.

Most of the delays came from changes in the layout of where the wells were supposed to go. It went from 02 wells to 08 wells, dramatically increasing the time required. You may want to consider having the sub-contractor confirm your local regulations and placement of the wells prior to signing a contract.

If you have not had a core sample done (who has?) be aware that there is no way to predict the material makeup of the ground 300 feet down. This may necessitate a change in equipment or drilling method which will add time. It is a necessary evil, and can’t be avoided unless they can use their full size well rig on your property. They couldn’t on mine, and it caused issues. In retrospect, if I could have moved a shed or some fencing, I should have. Be flexible.

Lastly, be prepared to have your yard torn up. It rained a lot during the install, and they needed water in the drilling process, so my yard is beat up, but again, this is the nature of the work. If this is an issue for you, they offer hand raking and restoration at additional cost. If you don’t want to put in some work after they are done, you should opt for that option.

The end result however is fully functioning system that is very inexpensive to run (the other day it never got above 35 and it only cost $3.89 to operate). I am very happy, and could not recommend these folks more highly. If I had to choose again, I would make the same call.

The state and federal government subsidies made me start to seriously consider replacing my existing HVAC system. My old system would constantly run in the summer time and the house had difficultly keeping 70 degrees when it was over 90 degrees outside. I had doubts if the engineering would be sufficient because the rule of thumb is 200 feet per ton of cooling and the system is a variable speed 3/4 ton unit. I contacted the east coast representative for Water Cooler (maker of the HVAC unit) and they assured me that 600' would be more than sufficient. The outside unit was removed and the new unit is in my basement. It runs so quietly that most people can not ever hear it. I can barely hear the unit (less noise than a refrigerator. The unit is designed to constantly run and the house has never been cooler. The unit has not failed me and I am looking forward to the winter to see how well it performs. The air quality has also improved because the unit uses large filters (up to #13 for maximum filtering) that are easy to replace and can be ordered online. The thermostat reminds me when it's time to replace the filter (@every three months). Ground Loop did an excellent job in the engineering, installation, and maintenance. I had an issue with the thermostat giving an incorrect humidity reading. The technician came out the next day and swapped the unit out - still didn't fix the problem. He contacted Water Furnace and manually adjusted the internal sensor to compensate for the problem. I have owned my home since 1993 and this is the first time the HVAC unit has worked properly. Ground Loop sized the unit correctly and installed it in my basement without and problems or concerns. I highly recommend them.

We can't say enough positive things about Ground Loop and our geothermal system. The prior owners of our home installed the geothermal system and the system was a major selling point when we purchased our home. The system itself has held up extremely well since it was installed and requires little maintenance. Geothermal heating and cooling also is extremely efficient. We strongly encourage other homeowners looking to help the environment and save on utilities to consider such a system. Ground Loop has a wealth of experience installing geothermal heating and cooling systems. In fact, many other service providers who have visited our home have commented on how clean and professional our geothermal units look. Ground Loop services the system twice a year (once is spring and again in fall) and the Ground Loop technicians are professional, knowledgeable, friendly, and punctual. The Ground Loop office staff is always polite and easy to deal with as well. We have been extremely pleased with Ground Loop and recommend Ground Loop without hesitation.

We had a really terrible experience with these guys: 1. Really bad communication. If you send an email with three questions, count yourself lucky if one gets answered. Even within the company the communication is bad. We told them we weren't willing to do the final inspection until all problems were fixed. A tech was sent to do the final inspection who didn't even know we had a problem. 2. Don't know their own products. Had to wait a week for a sound-deadening compressor blanket to be ordered. I turned out that one was already on the unit that they installed. Their #1 tech is a young guy with less than 10 years of experience. When I had another GeoPro certified contractor inspect the system, his first comment was 'Looks like some on-the-job decision making happened here.' Decisions that should have been made before the quote (where to put the flow center, how to bring the lines into the house) were made AFTER the wells had been dug and we were committed. Even where to install the returns they were adding was changed on day 1 so that the job would be easier for them to perform (which seemed to be their primary concern). 3. They will give you a quote with an estimated cost after tax rebates, BGE rebate, etc. DO NOT TRUST this number. Already our 'estimated $2500' property tax rebate turned out to be $1300, making our unit $1200 more expensive than planned. I should have researched the rebates myself, so this one is really on me, but Ground Loop including this number in the quote is extremely misleading. 4. Extremely difficult to work with, even on simple stuff. They installed a wire directly next to our drain pipe, which I was going to modify. I had to ask three times over two days for them to run the wire through the wall. They obviously did not care. Ground Loop insisted that the flow center had to be in a specific place where some shelves had to be knocked down. Our second opinion immediately pointed out two places where the flow center could have been installed. One of the two places I had even suggested to Ground Loop before the install and was told that it could not be placed there. 5. Damaged our retaining wall and never paid for it. They sub-contract out digging the trenches. Their operator got his bobcat stuck and ended up damaging our retaining wall that we had installed last year. I was told multiple times I would be reimbursed for the cost of the fix, but never received anything. The fix was only $50, so ended up letting it go rather than keep wasting my time trying to get them to pay for it. 6. Had scheduled an 8AM service call well in advance to deal with issues related to the installation. Received a voicemail just before Ground Loop closed the day before the scheduled call saying they had to reschedule. When I called I was told we could either delay it more than a week (after we ha already waited at least several) or the tech could come before noon. Tech showed up at 2PM or so. I took a day off of work for nothing. 7. Unprofessional. One of the installers was out sick. I heard his replacement talking with the head installer about how the sick guy had done a terrible job and discussing whether they 'should tell on him.' Just what you want to hear. The guy out sick also lost a lithium-battery powered flashlight in our attic. Lithium batteries can spontaneously com bust, so now we have a potential fire starter sitting over our heads. However, the biggest problem we've had by far is the horrible noise that the unit makes. We live in a rancher, so the unit sits in a closet near our living space. The closet with the HVAC in it is only closed off by some rickety bi fold doors. Ground Loop should NEVER have recommended the Water Furnace 7 system that we received. In the winter the unit was loud, but manageable. In the summer it whines terribly. Because it is geothermal and runs most of the time, the noise is also there almost 24 hours a day. I don't understand why a split unit or a traditional heat pump was not suggested. Unless someone was suffering from extreme hearing loss, I believe this unit would bother them. Despite all the problems we had over the course of the installation, Mike, the owner of Ground Loop, never once contacted us. This is the biggest contrast between Ground Loop and the other contractors we've hired (with which we've been very lucky). Again and again, Ground Loop has made it clear that our problems are none of their concern. They just don't seem to care whether you're happy with your system or not once they have your money. To be fair Ted at Ground Loop did offer to reimburse me for some basic soundproofing material if I wanted to try to soundproof the closet where the unit is installed. However, after the debacle trying (and failing) to get paid for the damaged retaining wall I did not trust that I would ever see a dime. It's not clear to me that this would even be enough to solve our problems, since the HVAC installation did not include any flexible ducting between the various ducts and the unit. After all this, the performance is not even that great. Our energy usage is maybe 10% lower than the same month last year, with outside temperatures almost identical and inside temperatures a degree or so higher. At this rate the unit may never break even on cost versus a high efficiency air source heat pump. I asked over email multiple times for a record of how the unit is performing (something that my second opinion said he always provides), and was ignored, as usual with Ground Loop. Ultimately we were very let down by Ground Loop and would not recommend them to anyone.

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They were professional and completed the job as they said. The system is up and running and has been working flawlessly and as promised. We are glad that we used groundloop for this big and complicated job. we would recommend them for an installation of a geothermal system

I was familiar with the energy saving advantages of a
geothermal heating and air conditioning system and had wanted to upgrade my
home for many years.  After our recent extra
cold winter and spending thousands of dollars on expensive heating oil, and faced
with an impending failure on my 19 year old air conditioning system, I decided
that this year was the right time.  I
contacted a number of area HVAC installers as I performed my due diligence,
finally selecting Ground Loop, a company in business since 1991 that does
geothermal systems exclusively.  I never
regretted that decision.
I have been around a while, and have decades of experience
with various contractors.  Ground Loop
not only exceeded my expectations, they did truly outstanding work at a very
competitive price.  This was a large job
and the installation involved drilling two 400 feet deep vertical wells in my
back yard and connecting them to a state-of-the-art geothermal system
manufactured by Waterfurnace in my basement and replacing my entire hot water
system (which also used heating oil) as well as all electrical and plumbing
work and removing my inside oil tank and the external a/c compressor.  There were many unique challenges including
the fact that I live on a very steep hill, with limited access to the area
where the wells were drilled.
Jason Cullum, the Ground Loop Project Manager, worked
closely with me throughout the entire process and staged the work to ensure
that I would have heat and hot water at all times.  He also installed the hot water components of
my choice, necessitating special trips to the supplier that I had
selected.  The sub-contractors selected
by Ground Loop (drillers, electrician, and plumber) were all first-rate as part
of the process.  The Ground Loop
installers, project foreman Butch Lawrence and Brian Serra, were professional
and seasoned, with many years of experience. 
They also were courteous and friendly, explaining everything to me as
they proceeded.  They even pointed out
some existing issues such as loose ductwork and repaired it.  An outlet was installed to take advantage of
the extra electrical wire that previously had serviced the oil-fired hot water
heater.  While they were sealing the hole
left from the heating oil tank, they also sealed an unrelated wiring hole.  These guys truly went the extra mile always.  Clean-up was fastidious. 
All of this work was accomplished in the predicted time
frame ? several days for the drilling and several more days for the geothermal installation
? at a price that was thousands of dollars less than their nearest competitor.  I would recommend this company to anyone contemplating
this technology and I look forward to many years of working with Ground Look to
maintain my geothermal equipment. 

These folks are great!  I originally received an estimate from another provider and the sales guy really was ill informed.  Jason, on the other hand, really knew his stuff and my husband and I felt confident that project would go well.  He explained everything clearly and answered questions in a knowledgeable way.  He worked with our crazy schedules and got the unit in and running in the time estimated.  At the end of the day, the project came in UNDER budget - how often does that happen?
Would highly recommend!

After a few installation problems, Groundloop and consistently attempted to fix any issues and have done a good job.

The bottom line for my review is, everything went very well and Ground Loop was exceptionally professional and performed excellent work including cleaning up after themselves after each day of work .  However, instead of going into every detail as that would just be a rehash of what many Angie's List customers have already posted, I will highlight the items that makes my experience a bit different.
     Ground Loop broke ground a week before Thanksgiving in 2013 and was pretty much done with the installation a week before Christmas.  In total, I counted 18 business days for the interior install plus 4 days for drilling the wells.  Now, if you read all that Ground Loop did for us and kept in mind that there was a holiday in between, I would say that the installation went by pretty quickly.
     From the start, the main reason why I liked Ground Loop and chose them (after interviewing 3 other potential providers) was I liked the project manager- Jason.  The main thing I liked about Jason was he was willing to work with our desires.  For example, no other provider wanted to touch twinning the 2 systems that were originally in our house together.  But Jason came up with a plan to make it work.  That's the way he is- always finding a way to make things work.
     I would also like to note that while all providers were competitive on cost, Ground Loop was actually slightly more expensive on the bottom line by like $2,000 (keep in mind the total cost and see that this is less than a 5% difference).  BUT, I felt the value of the work that Ground Loop performed was more than what the other providers were willing to bid.  I already mentioned the twinning of the 2 systems, but as further examples, only Ground Loop was willing to add extra returns and supplies at no extra cost.  Also, while the other providers were quoting me for buying and installing a whole-house dehumidifier, Jason agreed to let me buy the humidifier of my choice and then have them install it at no additional charge.
     As some of you have noticed, it has almost been a year since Ground Loop completed installation.  So why wait until now to review?  Well, with Ground Loop, they give you 2 free maintenance check-ups in the first year after installation.  I just had my second maintenance check and I am happy to say that everything is still working fantastically.  The only maintenance required was a firmware upgrade of the system as well as a procedure to increase the pressure in the ground loops.  Both were done well and without issue.
     The last thing I will note is a point of improvement that Ground Loop could make- attention to detail.  Over the course of the year, I noticed 2 things that I had to have Ground Loop come back to my home to remedy.  The first has to do with the ground loop's point of entry into the basement.  Basically, those entry points were not sealed and so one warm spring day when all the snow outside was melting, I found that the entry points were leaking water from the outside!  The second item has to do with the dampers that are used for zone control.  At the time of install, the dampers should have been insulated (according to the installation manual) but since they were not, a whistling sound could be heard in the vents.
     In both cases, I called up Jason and he graciously took ownership of these issues and had his crew come back out to remedy the problems.  I am happy to report that the leaking problem has gone away and I no longer hear whistling in the vents.  The motto here is, Ground Loop works until they get it right.  But I think it goes without saying that it would be best if Ground Loop can get these details right on the first try.  Just from observing the dampers having to be taken out, insulated and put back in, I think it is clear that it would have saved a lot of time and trouble had the insulation taken place before installation.
     Overall, I am very pleased and know for a fact that I have saved tons of money on my electric / heating / cooling bills.  Just to give you an idea, all the homes in my neighborhood are the same size.  My largest heating bill last winter was $330.  My neighbor's was over $700!!!  BGE rates our home as one of the most efficient homes in our surrounding area.  We are 20% more efficient than our most efficient neighbors in the summer cooling months.  What can I say but WOO-HOO!!!

My husband was the one who coordinated this project. Once work began, the installation was quite fast and seemed to be well managed. The last step was a check of the system after a few weeks. The technician also gave us a tutorial on using the system effectively. Overall, I really think they did a good job and I'm really happy to have an A/C system that can keep up with the demands of our house.

They were simply fantastic start to finish.

It went very well. They were here for about an hour, changed the filter, cleaned the condensation plan and ran system diagnostics and made adjustments accordingly. 

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