My partner plus I try to live as environmentally responsible as possible.
We are diligent about recycling.
We grow several of our own fruits plus vegetables, using rainwater for irrigation plus making our own compost for fertilizer. We use public moveation, walk or ride our bicycles whenever possible. We have installed solar panels to give for our electrical needs. Our most expensive plus worthwhile investment was a geothermal heat pump to handle year round temperature control. The cost of the underground loop plus excavation to implement it made the project far more expensive than a conventional heating plus 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 plus transfers it to the heat pump plus into the home. The process avoids burning fossil fuels. There are no redhome gas emissions, fumes or carbon monoxide to worry about. In the summer, the operation reverses to pull heat out of the indoor air plus create a cooling effect. The geothermal heat pump achieves efficiency ratings of 400%. For every equipment 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 give an especially energy efficient supply of warm water.