I had always thought that geothermal energy was somthing that was only available in very rare and specific locations. As it turns out, using the same general principles that we use every day in refrigerators and air-conditioners (compression, expansion, heat exchange, etc.), you can get energy from the heat of the earth itself no matter where you live… and it’s just about free. There is some electricity used to power pumps and compressors, but after your set-up costs geothermal is free. You actually get more energy out of it than you put in to power the machinery. If you coupled geothermal with electricity from solar or wind you could easily be completely off-grid and fossil fuel free.

I saw a commercial on TV about WaterFurnace and I couldn’t wait to check out their website to find out more. What I really wanted to know was the nuts and bolts of how this geothermal-for-normal-people thing really worked, and to be honest, I was pretty skeptical. Their website is thorough enough for me to be convinced that it works and is real. For a more unbiased opinion check out the US Dept of Energy website.