It’s Green

About 70 percent of the energy used by a geothermal heat- pump system comes in the form of renewable energy from the ground. According to the EPA, high- efficiency geothermal systems are on average 48 percent more efficient than gas furnaces, 75 percent more efficient than oil furnaces, and 43 percent more efficient when in the cooling mode. Because geothermal pump heating systems do not burn fossil fuels to produce heat, they generate far fewer greenhouse gases than a conventional furnace. They also provide higher air quality because there are no emissions of carbon monoxide. In general, a 3- ton residential geothermal heatpump system produces an average of about compared one pound to less a conventional carbon dioxide system. per Over hour a 20-year span, that’s enough to remove the equivalent of 10 metric tons of carbon from the atmosphere. If 100,000 geothermal units go into service in the next few years, it could save as much energy as removing nearly 60,000 cars from U. S. highways.