Switching to geothermal energy for warming and cooling your home offers many benefits. Geothermal energy is clean power sourced directly from the earth. It’s natural and sustainable, although the initial installation can be expensive. In the long run, geothermal heat pumps are long-lasting and help to reduce carbon emissions. They do not burn fuel or emit greenhouse emissions.
Geothermal Benefits Your Home and the Earth
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, geothermal heat pumps are the most energy-efficient, environmentally clean, and cost-effective systems for heating and cooling buildings. This low-maintenance system is cheaper to operate than traditional systems. These systems are perfect for your home, your budget, and the environment.
Efficient Heating and Cooling
A geothermal heat pump is more efficient than conventional heating systems or HVAC systems because it does not burn fuel to create warmth. Instead, it moves existing heat from one location to another. Underground temperatures remain a constant 50 degrees Fahrenheit year-round. Thanks to this consistency, less energy is required to cool or heat your home.
Think of it like your fridge, removing heat from its interior and transferring it to your kitchen. A geothermal pump likewise transfers heat from the ground to your house (or vice versa). This occurs via long hoops of pipes that are found underground, usually filled with a type of liquid (water or an antifreeze solution). These loops are connected to a geothermal heat pump in your home acting as both a furnace and an air conditioner.
High Initial Costs Will Pay Off
Geothermal heating systems last much longer than other systems. HVAC systems typically have to be repaired often, and fully replaced in 14 to 16 years on average. The parts for geothermal systems within your house generally run without the need for repair for up to 25 years, and the lifespan is 50 or more years for the underground components. Because of this, the initial cost of such a system will break even within 10 years — just about the time you’d be getting ready to replace your traditional HVAC system.
There Are All-Around Benefits
Unlike other heating and cooling systems, a geothermal system does not rely on combustion to operate. This has many advantages — it does not require a propane or natural gas tank around your house, it does not have components that will wear out quickly from frequent use, and it does not require burning fuels close to your residence.
This eliminates the detrimental risks of having such fuels and burning them. Be mindful, however, that the system uses electricity to run, so any electricity used from a system that is generated by fossil fuels will still rely on them at some point.
Switching to geothermal energy systems should not be a snap decision, but they can offer many benefits down the road for those who choose to invest in their advantages. The largest factor to consider is cost, and for most who can handle the expense, the benefits often outweigh these costs relatively quickly. Geothermal can help people by providing more efficient homes and a cleaner environment for our planet’s future.