Washington Electric Cooperative encourages its member consumers to check out a simple concept in cost-effective year-round comfort. The geothermal heat pump system works in harmony with the earth and the sun to provide for your home's heating and cooling needs.
The concept is simple. A high-strength pipe made of thermal plastic is buried in the ground in a loop configuration. A closed loop is filled with an environmentally safe water/antifreeze solution that transfers heat to or from the earth as needed. The same principle applies for an open loop that taps into a well, then discharges the water once it has been used. The closed loop circulation system is virtually maintenance free, with a life expectancy of over 50 years.
During both summer and winter, some of the heat being moved is diverted and put to good use in your back yard to heat about 35% of your hot water - free. Most homeowners realize a substantial savings from this extra geothermal benefit.
With a geothermal system, the source of your heating and cooling is free. The only energy required is the electricity needed to operate the geothermal unit. That's why the geothermal system is 300 to 400% energy efficient, returning $3 to $4 worth of heating or cooling for every dollar of electricity you put into it. Compare that to the 98% efficiency of most modern natural gas, propane or fuel oil furnace, or even 200% plus efficiency of electric air-scource heat pumps.
Recent estimates show an average home can be heated by a geothermal system using 8-cent per kWh electricity for about $633 per heating season; this same home would cost over $2,200 per year to heat with $1.85 per gallon propane or $2.75 per gallon fuel oil per winter. This same home would run nearly $1,300 per year to heat with natural gas. An air to air heat pump would heat this example home for about $1,000 per heating season again using 8-cent per kWh power costs.
