The Environmental Protection Agency lists geothermal heat pumps as the most environmentally responsible choice for heating and cooling.
Because I am committed to minimizing my family’s carbon footprint, I was very interested in this option for temperature control.
However, when I first started looking into the possibility, I was shocked by the cost of purchase and installation. Geothermal heat pumps require an underground loop system. The excavation to implement the underground loop is extremely invasive and expensive. There are government funded tax incentives that help with start up costs. Plus, geothermal heat pumps offer incredible super energy savings, achieving 400% efficiency ratings. The system actually generates four times as much energy as it needs to operate. It takes advantage of the consistent, year-round, underground temperature. It draws from the free and renewable energy supplied by the sun. The heat pump is installed inside the home, where it is protected from the weather. With proper maintenance, it can be expected to last upwards of twenty years. The underground loop is warrantied for fifty years and should continue to operate for twice that long. The system pulls heat out of the ground, brings it to a higher temperature and delivers it into the home. In cooling mode, the heat pump reverses direction, extracting heat out of indoor air and sending it into the ground. The process is quiet, clean and safe. There is no combustion process, which eliminates the generation of fumes, carbon monoxide and greenhouse gasses. Another perk of a geothermal heat pump is the ability to generate a virtually free source of hot water.