For homeowners who want the best and most cost-effective heating and cooling system possible, geothermal heat pumps offer extremely high levels of efficiency and monthly savings on home comfort expenses. They can be as much as 50 percent more energy efficient than even high-efficiency furnaces, and can reduce your seasonal heating and cooling bills by as much as 70 percent. In addition, geothermal heat pumps run quietly and cleanly, they waste very little energy, and they are very environmentally friendly, producing no harmful exhaust or emissions.
While the benefits of geothermal heat pumps are highly attractive, many homeowners encounter an obstacle they can’t get around when they find out how much a geothermal system costs. Geothermal heating and cooling systems can run several thousand dollars, depending on the configuration; it would not be unusual for a geothermal system to cost well over $10,000 or even twice that. This initial cost is considerably higher than more traditional fuel-based or electric heating and cooling, and for many homeowners, that seems like a deal-breaker.
When deciding whether to install a geothermal system, however, make sure you evaluate the initial cost as well as the long-term savings you’ll see by using such a system. There may be local, state or federal incentives for using geothermal systems, which will reduce the purchase price. The federal government offers income tax credits for geothermal heat pumps amounting to 30 percent of the unit’s cost with no upper limit; these credits are good until 2016. Check the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency for information on other incentives programs offered by Indiana.
A geothermal system can be expected to last 15 years or more. With annual savings of hundreds, even thousands of dollars on your heating and cooling expenses, a geothermal unit could pay for itself by about the halfway point of its useful life with the utility savings alone.
For almost 50 years, Hartman Brothers Heating & Air Conditioning has served HVAC customers in the New Haven and Fort Wayne areas. Contact us today for more information on geothermal heating and cooling and how it makes better financial sense in the long run.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about geothermal heat pumps and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Hartman Brothers services New Haven, IN and the surrounding Fort Wayne area. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!
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