According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), buildings are the largest single sector of total U.S. energy consumption. Indeed, the buildings sector accounted for a whopping 41 percent of primary energy use in 2010. The buildings sector consumes approximately one third more energy than either the industrial or the transportation sectors. And since 60 percent of energy used in buildings is for “thermal loads,” some 24 percent of all energy used in the nation is for space heating, cooling, and water heating.
A unique renewable energy technology with vast potential for energy efficiency and savings stands ready to assist architects, engineers, contractors, developers, builders, facilities managers, and homeowners dramatically reduce the thermal energy demands of buildings. That technology is the ground-source — or geothermal — heat pump (GHP).