Neo-Geothermal

Geothermal prices, in comparison to the prices of other types of renewable energy, can be extremely low. The majority of the cost comes from the labor and there is little to no maintenance that must be done, meaning long term geothermal prices are almost nil. The only item that may require maintenance, which is also the only part that contains moving pieces, is the heat pump.

Residential geothermal energy basically uses the heat in the ground instead of a natural gas or electrically heated metal coil. The distance between the heating element and the exit points, generally the vents of the home's HVAC unit, is certainly further, but the ground takes no energy to warm. The heat pump is the only thing in the system that requires any time of energy to operate, and it uses a fraction of the energy of a central heating unit.

In many cases, residential home owners can eliminate the need for using their heaters altogether, saving them tons of money by not having to pay for any type of climate control throughout the winter months. Even if they cannot rely solely on geothermal heating, homeowners are able to subsidize a large portion of their energy usage, enabling them to rely less on the electric company, which is always a good thing. Not only will this save the homeowner money, but as hybrid plug-in vehicles and other devices that use a lot of energy become more and more prevalent, the strain on the power grid will only increase. Although no one really wants to seriously consider the possibility, having some sort of alternative heating should your city begin suffering brownouts in the winter would be very helpful.

In comparison to solar power, the most often cited type of power generation that can be used in the private home, geothermal prices are much less and provides a lot more power for each dollar spent. It is even possible to build a geothermal power plant deep within the ground for generating electricity, though technology has not yet advanced to the point that the average homeowner would even want to consider it, instead being satisfied with the relatively low costs of a geothermal piping system.