Although ground source energy requires upfront investment, the reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases are very great and an investment in ground source energy lasts much longer than other investments in renewable energy. The ground works installed for ground source systems, a major part of the cost, can be expected to last for over 100 years. The ground source heat pumps themselves are very reliable pieces of equipment with a long life – longer than air source heat pumps which have to be located outside, have more moving parts, including air circulation fans, and need to incorporate energy-consuming defrosting elements to contend with the formation of ice in winter. GSHP installations compare favourably with all other forms of Renewable Heating and all other mechanisms for generating Renewable Electricity in terms of life span.
