Geothermal Heating and Cooling

Kenergy encourages the installation of energy-efficient geothermal or electric air-source heating and cooling systems, which take advantage of the earth's free energy. At 300 percent efficiency, a geothermal system is the most efficient heating and cooling system on the market.

How It Works

A geothermal system is an electrically powered system that taps the natural energy stored in the earth to heat your home or business in the winter and cool it in the summer. The geothermal system contains three components: the geothermal unit, the liquid heat exchange medium (the closed-loop pipe system) and the air delivery system (the ductwork).

The Geothermal Unit

The geothermal system simply moves heat energy from one place to another. In the winter, liquid circulating through a loop of buried pipe absorbs heat from the earth and carries it to the geothermal unit, which extracts the heat, compresses it to a higher temperature and distributes it throughout the house. In the summer, the unit works in reverse, extracting heat from the house and transferring it back to the circulating liquid in the underground system, where it is dissipated into the cooler earth. Since the unit transfers heat rather than manufactures it, a geothermal system typically delivers three times more heating and cooling energy than it consumes. In addition, the geothermal system also may be used to heat water for household use saving you up to 50 percent on your water heating bill. The actual unit is placed inside your home, basement, garage or crawl space, where the surrounding temperature is above 45 degrees at all times. Because geothermal systems are housed indoors, the lifespan of the compressor and major components are greatly expanded. Most units last 20 years or more ... and you won't have the noise or service problems you have with an outdoor unit.

Tax Credits and Rebates

Kenergy currently is offering a $750 incentive to change your system to an energy-efficient geothermal system.  All you need to do to qualify is change your present system to a geothermal model and bring the invoice to Kenergy.  Qualifying systems were installed after May 1, 2012.

If that isn't good enough, you could qualify for a 30 percent tax credit.

To find out more about geothermal systems and 30 percent tax credits, click on the ClimateMaster logo below.