May 9, 2014

Geothermal heating and cooling systems can result in significant energy savings.

Geothermal heat pumps use far less electricity and produce less noise compared to conventional HVAC systems. The best thing is that geothermal systems have a long lifespan of up to 20-25 years and require minimal maintenance.

The Benefits of Geothermal Energy

HVAC experts believe that geothermal systems may require a higher initial installation cost, but they pay themselves off in terms of lower energy bills, low maintenance, high durability, and high efficiency. Here are some interesting facts about geothermal energy and how it impacts our environment and our lives.

1. Geothermal energy is generated by tapping heat stored under the earth’s surface.
2. Geothermal energy provides less than 10% of the world’s energy.
3. Geothermal energy is green energy as it poses no threat to the environment.
4. Geothermal energy is cheap compared to conventional energy forms.
5. Geothermal energy is a leading source of energy in Iceland. The country sources 18% of its electricity from geothermal energy.
6. Geothermal energy is primarily used in electricity generation and heating.
7. Geothermal energy is tapped from the earth using geothermal heat pumps.
8. Geothermal energy use produces very low greenhouse emissions; it produces only 3% of the emissions of a fossil power station.
9. In the United States, geothermal energy electricity makes up less than 1% of total electricity production.
10. In the United States, California tops the list of states using geothermal energy. It has around 30 geothermal power plants that produce more than 90% of the total geothermal energy.
11. Of all the available forms of energy, geothermal energy is the one that has minimum negative environmental impact.
12. In the United States, about 1 million residential geothermal heat pumps are installed. Every year, more than 60,000 new geothermal heat pumps are installed in the United States.
13. Geothermal heat pumps have resulted in annual savings to the tune of 40 trillion BTUs.
14. The use of geothermal heat pumps has reduced the carbon footprint by over 1.6 million metric tonnes annually.
15. Geothermal heat pumps have also enabled the elimination of more than 5.8 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.
16. Geothermal heat pumps have enabled energy savings to the tune of 8 million kWh.
17. Geothermal heat pumps have reduced the electricity need by over 2.6 million kWh.
18. By using geothermal heat pumps, we have been able to reduce reliance on other fuels equivalent to 21.5mn barrels of crude oil per year.
19. In financial terms, geothermal systems help bring down heating bills by about 70% and cooling bills by over 40%.
20. Geothermal heat pumps have a much lower cost per BTU compared to conventional heating systems.

Photo credit: futureatlas.com via Flickr