Clean Energy 101: Geothermal Heat Pumps. A time-tested clean heating and cooling technology with untapped potential.RMI March 29, 2023 Lauren Reeg, Mike Henchen, Chris Potter, The age of the electric heat pump is well underway. This clean heating and cooling technology has been in use for decades and is widely adopted across Asia and parts of Europe such as Norway where heat pumps heat and cool 60 percent of its buildings. However, it’s only recently that advances in its technology have spurred more home and building owners in the United States to realize the outsized economic, health, and climate benefits of going electric.  Today, the heat pump market is booming. Sales in Europe last year rose to a record high with a 37 percent increase from 2021. In the United States, heat pump sales outpaced gas furnaces for the first time in decades. With new tax credits and upfront rebates in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA — the climate bill passed in 2022), the stage is set for further ramping up equitable building electrification. One key technology that has received less attention but has untapped potential to bring the immense benefits of clean heating and cooling to millions of people is the geothermal heat pump, also commonly referred to as a ground-source heat pump.
Geothermal Heat Pumps: The Basics......A geothermal heat pump is a clean, renewable technology that helps a home or building stay comfortable in any season. It harnesses the constant temperature below the earth’s surface to provide heating, cooling, and often hot water. Since geothermal is an abundant and renewable resource just beneath our feet, geothermal heat pumps are considered some of the most efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly HVAC and water-heating systems available. And because heat pumps simply move heat and don’t rely on combustion, like a gas furnace or water heater, they can reduce energy costs by up to 50 percent and produce zero direct emissions that contribute to air pollution and climate change. Systems typically consist of a heat pump that replaces your furnace and is connected to pipes or a ground loop that contains heat-transferring liquid. These ground loops can be buried in horizontal trenches just below the earth’s surface or in deeper vertical boreholes, depending on location and density. The heat pump uses electricity to pull heat from the ground during colder months and works in reverse to dump heat into the ground when it’s hot out, acting as an air-conditioner. Conventional ductwork is most often used to distribute heated or cooled air from the heat pump throughout the building. Geothermal heat pumps are not geothermal power plants. Geothermal power plants produce electricity by using the heat underground to rotate a turbine, and they are primarily used for large-scale grid power, not connected homes and buildings.

Other benefits of geothermal heat pumps include reduced operating and maintenance costs, a quiet and long-lasting system with good humidity control, and less energy demand to support a more resilient electric grid. Curious if a geothermal heat pump is right for you? The Department of Energy has helpful tips for choosing and installing. Networked Geothermal: Powering Campuses and Neighborhoods in Hot and Cold Climates......In addition to single-family homes and apartments, geothermal heat pumps have been successfully installed at universities, hospitals, commercial office parks, [high rises] and neighborhoods. They are particularly effective in network systems that connect multiple buildings through shared piping and which use energy from the ground, wastewater, and ponds, among other sources. These network systems can achieve more than 500 percent efficiency, meaning for every  unit of energy that goes in, five go out. These larger systems require infrastructure to be installed and maintained, fostering local jobs and growing the clean energy economy. They can transition whole communities onto geothermal at a time, creating economies of scale that bring energy costs down for all participants......read on            https://rmi.org/clean-energy-101-geothermal-heat-pumps/