When my hubby plus I were building a home, the people I was with and I debated about the style of heating plus cooling plan to install! All of us not only wanted to ensure year round comfort but maximum energy efficiency. All of us hoped to minimize both our weekly expenses plus our impact on the environment. All of us were surprised to learn that geothermal systems have grown considerably in popularity in our area! Because a geothermal plan moves heat rather than generating it, the equipment can achieve up to 500% efficiency rating, and for every equipment of electricity used by a geothermal heat pump, it provides up to five units of heat! When compared to a conventional gas furnace plus air conditioning, the replacement of a geothermal heat pump saves us 60% on our heating costs plus nearly 50% on our cooling costs. All of us liked the fact that geothermal energy is considered the most eco-friendly power source on today’s market. It is virtually emission free, creating no carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide or formaldehyde, then there’s no combustion process. The heat pump still requires a small amount of electricity to operate, but the people I was with and I added solar panels to handle it, and rather than draw from fossil fuels, the geothermal plan pulls from the consistent temperature found underground. It makes use of the free plus renewable energy provided by the sun, then no matter what the weather brings, the geothermal plan maintains ideal comfort inside the home. The heat pump has actually few moving parts, reducing the cost of maintenance plus chance of malfunction. Because it’s situated inside plus protected from the elements, the people I was with and I can expect the heat pump to last upwards of twenty years. The underground loop plan is warrantied for fifty years.