Utilities benefit as a result of lower electricity demands during peak periods.
Higher initial costs to the owner are offset by lower operating costs. A concerted effort under the National Earth Comfort Program has been instituted by the GSHP industry to accelerate market penetration of GSHPs, with a goal of 400,000 annual shipments by the year 2000. As part of this acceleration, the GSHP industry desires that all aspects of the system be more environmentally friendly than other space conditioning methods. One aspect of this involves the assessment of the anti-freeze fluids required for freeze protection in many applications. The loop may be installed either vertically in boreholes drilled up to a few hundred feet deep or horizontally in trenches.