Geothermal Energy: A Renovation that Pays Back in Increased Home Value

For a lot of homeowners, home improvements only make sense if they can help to maintain or increase the home's value. While the boost energy-efficient upgrades could have for a home's resale value can be difficult to measure, one thing is clear: Top-of-the-line renovations, including converting to geothermal energy, often attract buyers who are willing to pay more for the ease and savings.

Buyer Preferences

As home buyers become more savvy about what they can expect from homes they buy, they are starting to demand that their homes do more for them. No one wants to pay a ton for utilities because the home is full of old, outdated equipment. In fact, energy efficient appliances and systems rank high on buyers' desires for homes they want to purchase, in virtually every demographic. They want to save energy and money, and they are drawn to homes that offer it in a smooth, streamlined fashion.

Long-Term Energy Solutions

Buyers also long for convenience. While practically everyone plans to make a few changes to a property after they move in, performing expansive, time-consuming improvements is not appealing to a large proportion of buyers. Geothermal energy, with equipment that can last up to 50 years or more, capitalizes on convenience and delivers it to homeowners and future buyers.

A homeowner could have a geothermal system installed and enjoy it for years before passing on an effective and efficient solution when they sell. Experts claim that people who purchase a geothermal system could recoup the additional expenses within 5-10 years of use. This is a great way for homeowners to take advantage of geothermal's energy savings to make a greater return on their investment.

Lower Energy Consumption

When it comes to energy usage, homeowners want to cut their energy consumption and save money on their utility bills. Because heating and cooling takes up nearly 50 percent of the average home's energy usage, switching to a much more efficient method offers an appealing and cost-effective choice. Many cities rely on the relatively moderate temperatures underground to supply energy to create electricity to run equipment.

At the residential level, hundreds of thousands of homes in America use geothermal heat pumps to heat their homes. Because they can draw from the constant temperatures a few feet below the surface, they do not need to burn nearly as much fuel for heating. This leads to concrete, measurable savings that buyers often find compelling, when considering their future energy costs.

Improved Awareness

Of course, buyers have to know about the products they are purchasing in order to understand how it benefits them. Thanks to greater awareness of energy-efficient renovations like geothermal energy, people who own homes or who are considering homeownership have more information about their options. Geothermal energy is certainly an investment, and requires a little work and space to install.

When buyers can see that the system is already in place and could save them hundreds of dollars per year over a more conventional system, many are prepared to pay extra for a Steeplechase home that is optimized for efficiency. It is hard to put a price on convenience, but saving a lot of money on energy is easy to understand. With a geothermal energy renovation, homeowners can appreciate greater efficiency and a more-appealing home, when they decide to sell.