Cudahy resident Morgan Gottschalk sees gas and electric prices only going up, so he’s building a home that will have no gas lines and will generate most of its own electricity.
How? Through geothermal heating and cooling and a custom roof to support a network of solar panels.
Gottschalk is building his 1,600-square-foot home (with an equal size basement) on a half-acre of land behind ATI in Cudahy along South Buckhorn Avenue. The parcel was previously owned by Milwaukee County and originally slated to be a roadway.
Gottschalk said with natural gas being a limited resource, prices will just continue to rise. He’s also concerned about the environmental ramifications of coal burning by power plants.
“I’m trying to be ahead of the curve,” he said. “As far as I know, there are no houses in Cudahy that have geothermal and solar.”
More: We Energies is creating a new solar farm in Oak Creek
The decision to build a new home for himself and his parents
After his parents came to live with him, Gottschalk decided he wanted a home easier for them to navigate.
“I wanted a ranch, something with no stairs,” he said.
He also always wanted to build a geothermal system and said, “now is the opportunity and time to do it.” And not just because of his family living situation, but because the federal government is offering a tax rebate on any green energy installations.
According to Gottschalk, it’s much cheaper to install a geothermal system into new construction rather than retrofit it into an existing home, though it can often be done.
He already has experience with a geothermal system in his vacation home in Jackson County.
“It’s a superior heating and cooling system to traditional gas and air conditioning systems,” he said, adding that geothermal is quieter and more energy efficient.
Already a Cudahy resident, Gottschalk said he chose to stay in the area due to the proximity to Lake Michigan, the parks, the commute for his job and because his wife works for the Cudahy School District.
Beginning construction and how the geothermal system works
He began construction on the home in early December with the installation of a horizontal loop field by G. O. Loop of Fox Lake about 8 feet below the surface.
At that depth, Gottschalk said the ground is a constant 52 degrees. In the summer, a fan blows across a coolant ― a fluid that runs through the coils in the ground ― and that cold air is blown into the home. In winter, a heating coil adds to that constant temperature to create heat with less energy.
“Basically, it’s a heat pump system,” he said. “It’s completely clean … clean energy.”
Gottschalk said he believes going all electric is building for the future.
“The new house is not going to have any gas at all, it won’t even have any pipes run to it,” he said. “It’ll be completely, totally electric.”
While he’d love to be fully off the power grid, Gottschalk said that’s currently not realistic. He does plan to generate much of his own electricity with 21 solar panels installed by Brookfield-based Home Team Energy Company, each producing 400 watts, covering his extra-long, three-car garage.
The installation cost for the loop field was about $7,000 ― which would double if retrofitting an existing home due to the system having to be vertically installed instead of horizontal, Gottschalk said.
The water furnace for his system costs about $15,000 compared to around $5,000 for a more traditional gas furnace. For the water furnace, Gottschalk is working with Madison-based Dave Jones Heating and Cooling.
Gottschalk expects it will take him between 10 and 15 years to fully offset the installation cost with energy cost savings.
In terms of repair, Gottschalk said the system should last over 25 years, but if any repairs are needed, he said most furnace maintenance companies can service a water furnace. Gottschalk also has a background as an electronic technician, so he expects to maintain much of it himself.
Construction timeline and plans for the future
The home itself is modular and currently under construction by Dorchester-based MidCountry Homes. It will be brought to the site in multiple pieces and put on the foundation. The garage will be built separately by NuGen Homes of Wauwatosa with its specially-designed roof to hold up the solar panels.
Gottschalk expects construction will be complete by the end of March 2024.
In the future, Gottschalk plans to install a battery backup system which will include two battery banks that cost $15,000 apiece. This will enable him to operate off solar power 24 hours a day.
“I will probably never be able to cut myself off completely from the grid, from We Energies, but I’ll be able to take off most,” Gottschalk said.
He’s also going to install a wood-burning stove in his living room for both cosmetic reasons and practicality ― the ability to burn wood for additional heat and to use for cooking.
Gottschalk said the use of fossil fuels is contributing to climate change and he hopes a way can be found to introduce technology like this in a more economical way.
“Not everybody can do it, but those who can I’d like to strongly encourage it,” he said. “I want to try and contribute in any way that I can (to reducing use of fossil fuel).”
Contact Erik S. Hanley at erik.hanley@jrn.com. Like his Facebook page, The Redheadliner, and follow him on X @Redheadliner.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: New home in Cudahy will use geothermal system for heating and cooling
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