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Homeowner Taps Geothermal Heating, Solar Power

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Apr 28, 2008 1:28 pm US/Mountain

Homeowner Taps Geothermal Heating, Solar Power

Reporting
Dave Aguilera
LONGMONT, Colo. (CBS4) ― A homeowner near Longmont in Weld County has used solar panels and other geothermal technologies to make his electric meter go backwards.

Steve Szabo also grows hay, organic vegetables and makes his own energy.

A new law called "net metering" means if he sends power back into the grid, he actually gets his utility bill to shrink.

The solar energy also powers a geo-exchange system. In Szabo's yard there are 2.2 miles of tubing buried 8 feet deep. The ground stays at a certain temperature which keeps air in the tubes at a steady temperature. That air is then forced into the home to keep it warm or cool.

Solar panels for an average house would cost about $19,000 and the geo-exchange system is about twice as much as regular force air heating.

Szabo said people should make that back in a few years.

He has a 5,000 square foot home and pays about $600 a year on his electric bill. He thinks his bill would be about $3,800 a year without the system he has.

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