Shallow irrigation well and pump systems are a perfect part of a geothermal installation. You can have much lower operating costs than other systems. A geothermal heat pump can immediately save you 30 to 60 percent on your heating and 20 to 50 percent on your cooling costs over conventional heating and cooling systems. It uses clean, renewable energy (the sun). With a geothermal heat pump, there’s no onsite combustion and therefore no emissions of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide or other greenhouse gases. Nor are there any combustion-related safety or air quality issues inside the house. (However, the pump unit uses electricity, which may be generated using fossil fuels.) It can be installed in both new construction and retrofit situations. However, it’s a lot more expensive in retrofits requiring ductwork modifications. It’s much quieter than other cooling systems, and there’s no noisy outdoor compressor or fan. The indoor unit is generally as loud as a refrigerator. You’ll have low maintenance, and it is long-lived. The indoor components typically last about 25 years (compared with 15 years or less for a furnace or conventional AC unit) and more than 50 years for the ground loop. The system has fewer moving parts and is protected from outdoor elements, so it requires minimal maintenance.