Ground-Source Heat Pumps:
Are They Green?

There is a compelling elegance in using the earth’s relatively constant temperatures as a source and sink for heat. Indeed, ground-source heat pumps can be a highly efficient space conditioning option and, although their overall market share is very low, they are increasingly popular in the many dozens of model green homes and light commercial buildings cropping up around the country. The U.S. Department of Energy and many electric utilities tout them as the best technology for green buildings. And schools, whether or not they consider themselves “green,” are adopting them in droves. Clearly, ground-source heat pumps (GSHPs) have some great environmental advantages over other heating and cooling systems, but do they make sense everywhere?

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