Geothermal Energy Uses

Geothermal energy uses heat from the Earth to generate heat, air conditioning, hot water and electricity for homes and businesses. It’s one of the many alternative energy choices being explored by scientists to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels.

Different Technologies

The technology that utility companies use to produce geothermal energy is totally different from what is available for homeowners and businesses. Where utility companies must drill deeply into the earth and has location limitations; homeowners can access the stable ground temperature much closer to the surface and a heat pump is useful anywhere in the world. Another difference is -- utility companies generate electricity from geothermal energy where a geothermal heat pump for homes and businesses produces heat, air conditioning and hot water, but not electricity. The heat pump exchanges the ground temperature with the temperature in your home, whether that is cold air or hot air.

Initial costs for installing geothermal energy are higher than traditional methods for homeowners considering geothermal heat pumps, however these costs are falling rapidly as the technology improves and are off-set by government incentives and significant utility bill savings following installation. For utility companies, this means that they can now produce more geothermal energy for lower costs. With new regulations and deadlines imposed by governments to convert to a certain percentage of green energy these companies are feeling pressured to use every resource possible to meet the new requirements. Because geothermal energy uses heat from the Earth, it is a more reliable power source than either solar or wind power, making these deadlines more reasonable.

More Affordable than Expected

Because geothermal energy uses natural resources, homeowners are finding that installing their own heat pumps and systems cuts their monthly utility costs quite a bit. Some people are seeing as much as a 70% savings on their monthly bills. Current tax credits, incentives and rebates are also helping make geothermal energy more viable for many people. The new credits cut the cost of the heat pump significantly and your investment is quickly made up by the savings each month, meaning that many more people are starting to consider this option.

If you are considering a geothermal heat pump for your home or business this is a technology that has a good long track record and is most efficient for situations where you have high heating and/or air conditioning costs as this one system will provide you with both solutions with the added benefit of hot water.

With the technology improvements and lower costs, it seems geothermal energy is pulling ahead of its renewable resource rivals. Now, both homeowners and large utility companies are becoming able to convert to this cleaner resource and move away from fossil fuels.

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