Geothermal Heat Pumps

"We love our heat pump," says Sandra Peel of Miniota. She and her husband Trent installed a geothermal heat pump in their home in 1997 in preparation for adding on. Then they decided to build a new house instead.

"We built the new house close to the old one, transferred our heat pump, and trenched over to our field of buried vertical piping. So our heat pump has served two houses."

"The temperature is uniform, summer and winter," she says.

"We don't know why more people don't go this way. A geothermal heat pump more than pays for itself. It is extremely quiet, particularly compared with an outside air conditioner. And it helps heat our domestic hot water."

A geothermal heat pump is efficient because it moves heat into or out
of the ground, instead of creating heat by burning fossil fuels
or powering an electric element.

Bill Kehler, who installed a geothermal heat pump for his 900-square-foot home in Steinbach, says that his electricity bill, on the budget plan, is now a steady $105 a month.

"The fan is always on, for a comfortable 22°C in winter. In summer we set the thermostat to 24°C. We didn't have air conditioning before," he says, "so we really appreciate that feature."

Dean Scammell, who built his own 2400-square-foot home on the outskirts of Stonewall three years ago, praises his heat pump for producing "a very gentle heat, not the blast you tend to get from conventional furnaces."

He points out that heat pumps offer more than great comfort and savings. "They don't burn fossil fuels, so you aren't producing any greenhouse gases. And you never have to worry about carbon monoxide."

Rollie Wilkins says he's happy with his heat pump, which he installed six years ago when he and his wife built their new 1425-square-foot bungalow just outside Brandon.

"My biggest hydro bill-and that's for everything because we don't have gas out here-is never more than $150 in winter."

Before deciding on a heat pump, he talked to several people who had them, including two staffers at the office where he once worked. Now semi-retired, he works at a local curling club that uses a geothermal heat pump system for ice-making and space heating and cooling.

"I'm surrounded by heat pumps!" he says, "and I still haven't heard anything negative about them." Ryan Penner, Heat Pump Market Specialist for Manitoba Hydro, says that for many homeowners geothermal heat pumps are dream heating and cooling systems.

"They cut your heating and cooling costs, produce a very comfortable environment, and slash emissions of greenhouse gases because they don't consume fossil fuels."

"In terms of economics, there are two best times to install a geothermal heat pump. One is when you are building a new home. The other is when you are replacing a heating system that is near the end of its useful life, particularly for customers not currently served by natural gas," Penner says.

A geothermal heat pump is often more expensive to install than other heating and cooling systems. To cover the additional cost, Hydro offers a Residential Earth Power Loan that you can conveniently pay off on your energy bill.

"In some cases a heat pump could save more on your energy bill than your monthly payment on our Residential Earth Power Loan. In other words, the loan can sometimes pay for itself."

There are currently an estimated 2900 heat pumps in homes and commercial buildings in Manitoba.

"Using the earth as a source of energy is not new thinking," says Penner.

"A Swiss patent was issued for the technology as long ago as 1912!"

For an information package on geothermal heat pumps for homes,
call 1-888-mbhydro (1-888-624-9376), or visit Hydro's website at www.hydro.mb.ca