• OccamsRazer@lemmy.world
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    3 hours ago

    I’m talking about point of use. I know a bunch of people who spent a few thousand extra to get geothermal installed and paid it off in a matter of a couple years, and 20 years later they still have cheap, all electric heating and cooling. Solar takes 15 to 20 years last i checked, and then your panels need to be replaced. Wind isn’t even an option.

    But yeah that’s really only for point of use energy and is only marginally applicable to scale operations.

    • frezik@midwest.social
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      4 hours ago

      Solar panels are warrantied to 25 years to a certain performance level. They still work after that, but tend to have reduced performance.

      Geothermal systems have about the same 25 year expected lifetime. A lot will depend on if the owner keeps on top of maintenance or not. Given that most homeowners replace their water heaters in <10 years when it could have lasted 30 with good maintenance practices, it’s fair to say it’ll be closer to 25 years for a geothermal system when it could last 50.