Clean Energy Tips

TIP #5: New Superwindows use two or three layers of glass, a low-e coating and are filled with argon gas. They can be eight times more effective at reducing heat loss than traditional single pane windows. bullet

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Geothermal Systems

Thanks to Earth’s relatively constant temperature, geothermal heating and cooling exchange systems offer a highly efficient and cost-effective solution to standard operating systems. Systems can be either closed or open loop systems. By pumping fluid through buried, looped pipes, the fluid is heated or cooled depending on the needs of the building and delivered through conventional ducting. No larger than a conventional furnace, these units can be retrofitted in existing homes. Their heating efficiencies are 50 to 75% higher than standard systems, and their cooling capacity is 20 to 40% higher than available air conditioners. (EPA figures)

It is estimated that the installation of 400,000 geothermal exchange systems each year could reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by over 1 million metric tons of carbon each year, a figure equal to the conversion of a half-million cars to zero-emission standards or planting over a million acres of trees.

View a few of our residential geothermal projects here »

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Types of Geothermal Exchange Systems

Geothermal IllustrationClosed loop systems can be laid out (1) horizontally in trenches or (2) installed vertically in a bored hole similar to a well. They can also be installed in a body of water. The surrounding mediums, either earth or water, warms the fluid-filled pipes in winter. A pump moves this warmed fluid into the home where the gained heat is harvested using a compressor. (3) An open loop system directly pumps water from the water table, a lake or a stream. The system extracts about three degrees of heat from the water, then discharges it back into the water table without consuming or contaminating any of the water.

Things You Should Know About Geothermal Exchange Systems
  • Sales of geothermal exchange systems over the past five years have grown an average of over 22 percent per year, with 1999 growth at 33% (the latest year for which data is available.
  • Geothermal exchange can reduce energy consumption—and corresponding emissions—by over 40% compared to air source heat pumps, and by over 70% compared to electric resistance heating with standard air-conditioning equipment, according to the EPA.
  • Surveys by utilities indicate a higher level of customer satisfaction for geothermal exchange systems than for conventional systems. Polls show that more than 95% of all Geothermal Exchange customers would recommend it to their friends and family.
  • Geothermal exchange systems have a lower lifecycle cost than conventional systems, even in hot and humid regions where the demand for air-cooling is high.
  • Geothermal exchange systems do not require a flue or chimney. There is less risk of fire, and no change at all of carbon monoxide poisoning, because there is no on-site combustion.

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