The final installment of The Heat Beneath Our Feet webinar series, "Geothermal Energy at Home," explored the growing use of ground source heat pumps and what communities can do to leverage this exciting technology.
Ground-source heat pumps, sometimes also referred to as GHPs or geo-exchange systems, use the relatively constant temperature of the earth to heat and cool buildings. Doing so, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, could reduce the amount of electricity used to heat and cool the average household by 25 to 50%.
For this discussion, WGA was joined by Jeff Hammond, Executive Director of the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association, Heather Deese, Senior Director of Policy & Regulatory Affairs at Dandelion Energy, Ryan Dougherty, President of The Geothermal Exchange Organization (GEO), and Terry Proffer, GeoExchange Designer and Geologist with Major Geothermal.
The panelists outlined details about tax credits available for installing ground source heat pumps, the benefits of doing so, and important design aspects.
“The sad fact is, we have been a niche technology that a lot of people don’t know about," Ryan Dougherty, said. "Most people, when they think about geothermal, think about Iceland. We need to do a better job of educating people on these technologies.”
Learn more about geothermal energy in the other seven episodes of The Heat Beneath Our Feet webinar series. Topics include:
