Getting To Know More About Geothermal Ground Source Heat Pumps

GSHP or geothermal ground source heat pumps is an affordable and environmental friendly heat source. So why is this process not adopted by more and more households nowadays? And why is it still unknown for most people?

You can see TV advertisements and billboards pertaining to your power service provider, about cooling systems and heating systems that are currently out in the market. Why is it you do not see any advertising campaigns for geothermal ground source heat pumps? It is not a relatively new concept, mind you. The GSHP has been around for sixty years now. It was the brainchild of Robert C. Webber during the late 1940s.

If you think about it, if only GSHP had gotten the attention of the market since it was conceptualize, it would be a big change when it comes to the energy consumption of households not only in United States of America but in the entire world as well. If only GSHP received the same attention and explosive growth much like the computer, internet and cell phone, the energy crisis the world is experiencing today might not even exist at all.

You cannot say that GSHP is not a good idea. Of course it is. It can help save energy and energy bills, why is that not such a good idea? Also, the fact that geothermal ground source heat pumps are still out in the market, available for anyone to use means it is a working system, an efficient one at that. So why is it that GSHP remains as it was 60 years ago, virtually unknown?

The answer to that question boils down to three things, high loop cost, loop space requirement and loop design uncertainty. Installing GSHP into a home is almost three times more expensive than installing traditional HVAC system. People tend to prioritize the amount of dollars they have to put up immediately, or upfront, than the amount of dollars they can save in the future. No one likes uncertainty. The future is a great uncertainty. Even if you tell homeowners that the GSHP can pay for itself within 6 to 10 years time they will still not patronize it. What if they decide to move to a new house? What if their house burned down?

It does not matter to people that the GSHP can better sustain the environment. What matters to them is what they have to pay upfront and that is lot of money if you want GSHP installed in your house. Until the cost is slashed for GSHP installation, it will take a backseat when it comes to the heating system of the house.