What’s so Green about geothermal heat pumps?

With all the hyperbole surrounding the word Green in the current lexicon of American politics and pop-culture, finding a balance between cost and benefit is often lost in the shuffle. When I hear or read that something must be done to save the planet, or save the Spotted Owl, or save the Spiny Newt, regardless of the cost, I become suspicious. Rarely are the true costs of any such endeavor truly realized until the good intentions have long been forgotten. Very often, the true nature of, well nature, is not completely understood and the knee jerk reactions and promised returns end up causing more problems than they repair. I prefer to take a rational well researched approach to decisions and look at the real benefit of something before running head long into a solution that may have unintended consequences. I do believe that the proper course in today’s economic circumstances should be one that does embrace and promote the idea of limiting environmental impact and energy use while at the same time maximizing efficiency and saving some of the other ‘Green’ i.e. money. What if there was a way to heat and cool your home that would minimize the energy used? What if you could heat your home using solar energy stored in the earth’s surface and could reject heat from your home back into the ground in the summer? What if this system could be installed on a standard city lot? What if the system could operate at efficiencies of 300 percent or more? What if you were able to save 50 percent, 60 percent or more on your annual energy bills? What if you could get 30 percent of the cost of this system back in the form of a federal tax credit? What if your electric utility provider would pay for up to $3,300 of the cost to install a system like this? What about a Geothermal Heat Pump? Ground Source or (Geothermal) Heat Pumps are available right now. They can meet or exceed all of the questions posed above. They can save you money, and with the current tax credits and other incentives they have never been more affordable. There are very few sure things in the new Green society. If you want to find ways to minimize energy use and long term environmental impact, there is a solution that is available, affordable and the ultimate outcome is completely predictable. Save the Earth and save some money at the same time. Oh, and don’t forget to save the Spiny Newt!