Geothermal heating and cooling systems
Like we saw at Evansville High School on the show, lots of schools are turning to geothermal heating and cooling systems. Nearly 600 schools in 39 states use geoexchange, which means over 1 million students and 45,000 teachers are helping to make the world a better place. They use these systems for a lot of really cool reasons.

First of all, geoexchange saves schools a lot of money. They cost about the same to install as regular systems, and because they don’t rely on as much electricity or products like gas, the school’s bills are lower. The equipment is easier to fix, so specialists don’t have to be called in for maintenance very often. Every room or area of the school is controlled by a different pump and thermostat, so some areas can be shut off after school hours, saving even more electricity. And, because most of the system is underground, they occupy a lot less space than traditional heating systems – that’s more room for schools to use for other purposes like classrooms or recreational areas. Schools now using these kinds of systems save more than $25 million in energy costs, and can use that saved money on things like books, computers, and programs for their students.

Also, geothermal heating and cooling systems are a lot safer for the environment. Some older systems use combustibles like natural gas and a flame; these have the potential to be a major fire hazard, if they’re not checked properly, carbon monoxide can build up. Geoexchange uses no combustion, has no outside fuel, and produces no pollutants indoors. If every school that could use geothermal systems did, it would save enough electricity to power one million homes for one year and it would do the same good for the environment as planting eight million trees. And, they would reduce the need for 61 million barrels of oil and 2.6 billion gallons of gasoline. Wouldn’t that be great for the planet?