Geothermal heating and cooling systems tap into energy stored just under the earth’s surface to condition the air in your home. While they’re less common than furnaces, boilers or heat pumps, they have many benefits.

Among the benefits, geothermal systems:

• Cost less to operate than traditional systems. Any system that uses fuel combustion to create heat, such as gas furnaces, will never be able to exceed 99 to 100 percent efficiency. However, since geothermal systems transfer heat instead of creating it, they can function at incredible levels of efficiency. For every unit of electrical energy that is consumed, geothermal heating and cooling systems deliver four units of energy. This means these systems are 400 percent efficient.
• Quieter. Geothermal units operate at a noise level comparable to a refrigerator’s. Unlike noisy air conditioners, geothermal systems don’t have outdoor units, which also means they aren’t subject to the wear and tear of the outdoor elements.
• Environmentally friendly. The Environmental Protection Agency has recognized geothermal heating and cooling as the most efficient way to keep your home comfortable. It creates no harmful emissions, and because its electricity demands are low, it reduces the strain on our power grid.
• Clean and safe. Zero combustion means zero risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. You can greatly improve the quality of your indoor air by combining a geothermal system with a high-efficiency air cleaner.
• Long lasting. Plan to use your geothermal unit for 20 years or more. (Many furnaces, on the other hand, last 15 years or less.) The buried portion of a typical geothermal system is expected to last about 50 years.
• A smart investment. The energy savings produced by a new geothermal system typically offset the initial expense within several years.

To learn more about geothermal heating and cooling systems, contact All Year Heating, Air Conditioning & Solar. We’re more than happy to answer any questions.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about  geothermal heating and cooling and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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