should-you-invest-in-geothermal-energy-2025
Geothermal energy is clean, renewable, and incredibly efficient, offering significant advantages for electricity production, heating, and cooling. However, while it provides long-term savings, it’s also highly dependent on your location and can be expensive to install.
The question isn’t just whether geothermal works, but whether or not it will work for you and your property. Let’s break down the pros and cons of geothermal energy to help you decide if it’s the right solution for your home and your clean energy goals.
Is Geothermal Energy a Good Investment?
If you live in an area where geothermal reservoirs are close enough to the Earth’s surface to make it viable, it can be an excellent investment. The systems typically have a very long lifespan, 50 to 100 years for ground loop systems, and 20 to 25 years for interior heat pumps.
You can expect the system to pay for itself between 3 and 10 years of use, depending on your installation costs. The primary drawback is that it’s not available in all locations. In fact, most people in the USA do not have access to viable reservoirs.
Does Geothermal Energy Have a Future?
Geothermal is an excellent option to include in our future energy solutions. It’s completely renewable and produces far less carbon dioxide than fossil fuels and no particulate matter. It also has no long-term waste disposal issues like nuclear power.
Also, more and more investments in this technology are helping bring us closer to a sustainable future. Despite some drawbacks, it definitely has a future in sustainable energy.
The biggest drawback compared to solar is that it’s extremely limited geographically. Despite solar only being available during daylight hours, EcoFlow Solar Generators can be used nearly anywhere on Earth where the sun shines. It also comes with a solar battery to store your energy so you can still use it at night when the solar panels are not producing any energy.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Geothermal Energy?
Now let’s take a look at the pros and cons of geothermal energy to help you decide what works best for you.
Pros of Geothermal Energy
Always Available
Geothermal energy, like most renewables, is virtually unlimited. As long as our Earth still has heat beneath the crust, it will always be there. The one significant advantage over other renewables is that geothermal is always available, unlike wind, sun, and tides. It doesn’t depend on weather, seasons, climate, or time of day, producing energy nearly every hour of every day, all year round. Therefore, its production is almost constant outside occasional maintenance, making planning for future production capacities easier.
Space Saving
Another advantage is that geothermal power plants only require modest space since most components, like heat exchangers, are buried underground. Especially with residential systems, very little infrastructure remains above-ground. However, drilling and large-scale land excavation are required to install them.
Optimizes Resource Use
Geothermal has significant potential to optimize resource use. During its use phase, the heat flows are organized so that any heat that cannot be immediately used can go back into the steam pipes to power the plant, so little energy is wasted. At the end of its lifespan, it even has some components that can be salvaged and reused.
Safety
They’re a safe power source since they use no fossil fuels and generate no toxic emissions. There are no risks of fire or carbon monoxide poisoning like fossil fuels, or the catastrophic risks and disposal issues associated with nuclear power.
Plants Have a Long Lifespan
Geothermal has a significantly longer lifespan than most other energy sources, between 80 and 100 years for the ground loop components of the system. The indoor components (heat pumps) generally last 20 to 25 years, much better than the 15-year lifespan of conventional HVAC systems and almost as good as the 25 to 30-year lifespan of premium solar panels.
Low Maintenance
Geothermal uses a closed system where fluid pressure in the piping self-regulates. The number of electrical and mechanical components that can break down is very small, leading to a low-maintenance system compared to most energy sources.
Low Environmental Impact
Residential geothermal systems can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40-70% compared to conventional systems. They typically produce no toxic emissions, particulate matter, or wastes to dispose of. However, they do release relatively small amounts of carbon dioxide and sometimes may release some hydrogen sulphide and sulphur dioxide, although far less than any fossil fuel.
Cons of Geothermal Energy
Very Location-Dependant
One of the most significant disadvantages of geothermal energy production is its dependence on location. Most places on Earth are simply unsuitable because geothermal reservoirs above 212°F are needed to produce electricity. That temperature is only reasonably accessible in areas located near tectonic plate boundaries or hot spots, such as California, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, Utah, and parts of Arizona and New Mexico, as well as Hawaii. Most of the USA, particularly the east, isn’t viable for this type of energy production.
On the other hand, this is one of the significant advantages of using solar energy to create electricity. The EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 Solar Generator can be a great energy solution for almost any home in the USA, as long as you receive at least some direct sunlight.
High Upfront Investment
While long-term costs are low because there are no fuels to purchase and they’re low maintenance, the installation cost is higher than that of other renewable energy sources and most non-renewable sources, excluding nuclear.
The high costs are primarily due to the need for large-scale drilling deep into the Earth to access the geothermal reservoirs. This is also why it’s so location-dependent. Only near plate boundaries or thin areas of the Earth’s crust are those reservoirs close enough to the surface to make drilling viable.
Commercial-scale geothermal plants sometimes must drill 1 to 2 miles into the Earth. Even small-scale residential systems often cost up to $40,000 to install, significantly higher than solar.
Geological Instability
Another issue sometimes occurs when we drill deep into the Earth to release steam or hot water trapped in rocks. This may cause instability underground, leading to small earthquakes at the surface. Over time, subsidence can also occur where the land settles and sinks as the geothermal reservoirs are depleted.
Site-Specific Challenges
Even in regions where geothermal is a viable energy source, not every property is suitable without significant expenditures. Some properties are simply not large enough to accommodate the digging and drilling or the equipment needed to reach the reservoirs.
Furthermore, some rocks make drilling difficult and therefore more expensive. Sometimes water quality issues prevent open-loop systems, and finally, those in historical districts or near protected areas may have restrictions on ground disturbance.
Geothermal vs. Solar Energy
Both geothermal and solar energy offer significant options for home energy security and those looking to reduce their environmental impact. Geothermal offers reliability, consistency, and long-term value, despite its often much higher upfront costs.
However, geothermal is severely limited in its geographic locations, meaning that most people in the USA simply do not have access to it. Even if you live in California, Oregon, or other areas where it’s viable, your property size or other factors may still prevent you from accessing it.
Solar, on the other hand, offers easier and more cost-effective installation, excellent scalability, and can be installed on almost any home in the USA. Most rooftops can accommodate solar panels, and those that can’t may still be able to install ground-mounted systems.
The issue of reliability and consistency with solar is easy to address using solar battery storage systems, like those that come with the EcoFlow DELTA 3 Series Solar Generator. These allow you to produce energy anytime the sun is shining and store it in their long-lasting and ultra-safe lithium-iron-phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries that are no longer prone to thermal runaway like their predecessors, the lithium-ion batteries were.
Then, you still have clean solar energy at night or during bad weather when your panels are not producing enough.
Are Investments in Geothermal Technology Growing?
Geothermal power is growing in popularity around the world due to its superior longevity and reliability, even though its usefulness is limited geographically. In the USA, geothermal investments are expanding, and they’re set to contribute about 90 GW of clean energy by 2050. Tech companies are also starting to invest in geothermal energy to provide clean energy and support the growth of AI and data storage centers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will Geothermal Pay for Itself?
Yes, despite a higher upfront cost for geothermal energy, the system's long lifespan combined with its high efficiency means that it will pay for itself after 3-10 years. Your return on investment (ROI) depends on how much you pay for your installation, which varies significantly depending on local factors.
What Is the Lifespan of Geothermal Energy?
Geothermal energy production has a long lifespan compared to most energy sources. The ground loop components will last between 50 and 100 years, while interior heat pumps can last between 20 and 25 years, almost as long as premium solar panels.
What Are the Benefits of Installing a Geothermal Heating and Cooling System?
Geothermal heating and cooling systems can offer numerous benefits, including significant energy savings, reduced carbon footprint, and increased home value. By harnessing the Earth's natural energy, these systems provide consistent temperature control throughout the year while using less energy compared to traditional HVAC systems.
Final Thoughts
Geothermal energy has significant advantages, including its long system lifespan, low emissions, and 24/7 reliability. It’s a wise long-term investment if you live in an area where geothermal resources are accessible and your property is suitable for installation. However, it is highly location-dependent, so it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution.
For most people in the USA, solar energy remains the most practical and widely available energy solution. Products like the EcoFlow DELTA 3 Series Solar Generators offer cost-effective, renewable energy with flexible storage, easy installation, and no drilling required.