My husband and I try to live as environmentally responsible as possible.
We are diligent about recycling.
We grow many of our own fruits and vegetables, using rainwater for irrigation and making our own compost for fertilizer. We use public transportation, walk or ride our bicycles whenever possible. We have installed solar panels to supply for our electrical needs. Our most pricey and worthwhile investment was a geothermal heat pump to handle year round temperature control. The cost of the underground loop and excavation to implement it made the project far more pricey than a conventional heating and cooling system; However, geothermal heat pumps are considered the most environmentally friendly option by the EPA. This is because the system makes use of the free, renewable energy source supplied by the sun. The underground temperature remains constant at all times, no matter the weather. There is heat energy available in our own backyard. The loop draws from this heat energy and transfers it to the heat pump and into the home. The process avoids burning fossil fuels. There are no greenproperty gas emissions, fumes or carbon monoxide to worry about. In the summer, the operation reverses to pull heat out of the indoor air and create a cooling effect. The geothermal heat pump achieves efficiency ratings of 400%. For every unit of energy needed to run the heat pump, it produces four units of energy. Because of our solar panels, operation is virtually free. We also added a vale that uses the heat pump to supply an especially energy efficient supply of sizzling water.