Geothermal energy

Geothermal energy is one of the cheapest and most reliable ways to heat and cool most buildings today.

Geothermal pumps draw energy from the earth, using a series of underground pipes. In winter, these systems bring the earth’s warmth up into a building, concentrate it, and distribute it using heat pumps and ventilation systems. In summer, they work in reverse, taking heat from inside and discharging it into the cooler earth.

The earth itself supplies the renewable thermal energy, and the systems run with almost no pollution or greenhouse gas emissions.

Trends

Manitoba Hydro has become a Canadian leader in geothermal heat pumps. Manitoba Hydro's Residential Earth Power Loan, which is open to all residential customers across Manitoba, allows homeowners to finance up to $20,000 of the installation of a geothermal heat pump. In addition, since 1996, Manitoba Hydro's Commercial Earth Power incentive program has provided financial incentives to cover 175 commercial customers who have installed geothermal heat pump systems. This program has provided over $1.7 million in paid incnetives resulting in 14.88 GW.h in electrical energy savings and a reduction of over 12,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.

While Manitoba leads the country in geothermal installations, Ontario has also made significant progress. In Ontario, about 8,500 homes and 500 institutional and commercial buildings are using geothermal systems.

Economic benefits

According to Manitoba Hydro, installing 1,000 geothermal heat pumps in homes generates $15 million in construction-related activity.

The energy savings achieved by installing a geothermal heat pump are considerable. Annual heating costs are $400, markedly lower compared to $1,000 for electric furnace or electric baseboards, $1,250 for a gas furnace or $1,600 for a conventional oil furnace.

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