Heating: Geothermal heating requires no fossil fuels. Your fossil fuel consumption for heating will be reduced to zero. WaterFurnace units are 300% to 500% efficient. This means that a geothermal unit can provide 3.3 to 5.1 units of heat per unit of energy consumed. This is possible because the geothermal heat pumps use power to extract heat, not to create it through combustion. Gas furnaces that are 15 to 20 years old typically have an efficiency between 65% and 80%. A new, high-efficiency gas furnace can achieve 90 to 92% efficiency.

Cooling: Geothermal cooling utilizes less electricity than air-to-air condensers. The cooling EER ratings for WaterFurnace heat pumps range from 13.8 to 31.6 Btuh/watt. EER ratings for room air conditioners typically range between 8.2 and 11.0 Btu/watt. ENERGY STAR qualified central air conditioners must have EER ratings of at least 11 Btu/watt.

Hot Water: Homeowners can expect approximately 40% to 60% of their annual hot water needs to be produced by their geothermal unit. When the geothermal unit is operating, up to 100% of hot water needs will be met; when the unit is not operating no hot water will be generated and a conventional water heating source is used.

The following table provides an estimate of annual heating and cooling costs for a typical home in New England.