GSHPs have many other advantages relative to fossil-fueled systems:
- Do not have the risk of fire, explosion, or carbon monoxide poisoning
- Can provide supplement heat to hot water systems (During the cooling season, this is essentially free as the heat removed from your house is redirected to the hot water system before dumping the excess to the ground.)
- Lower your carbon footprint and reduce greenhouse gases
- Reduce your dependence on non-renewable sources of energy
- Create more consistent temperatures throughout your home as they operate at a lower temperature and, thus, significantly reduce the temperature swings when the furnace turns on or off. (In fact, a well-designed GSHP system with a variable-speed compressor should be running almost continuously.)
- Can be fairly easily “zoned” to independently control the forced-air and/or radiant heating to different parts of your home
- Can additionally provide heat to swimming pools, hot tubs, sidewalks, driveways, and other non-conventional areas
- Have longer life expectancy and lower maintenance costs