| I'm building a new house in Florida. The cost of installing geothermal (including tax break) is six times higher than traditional heat pumps. Why? This question came from a recent live chat. I regularly host these chats, where I take your questions and we debate big issues. Here's the deal on geothermal energy: Digging is expensive. It's why most of our electrical and telephone lines are aboveground even though this leaves us vulnerable during storms and wildfires. So to take advantage of the constant temperatures below the Earth's surface, we need to figure out a way to make tunneling cheaper. For years, tunneling technology hasn't gone very far. "The industry needs new thinking and technology," said Gregory Hauser, a civil engineer at Dragados who managed the replacement of the largest underground highway project in the United States, Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct. Installing a home geothermal system requires specialized equipment to drill and lay loops of flexible pipes. Water mixed with antifreeze flows through them to cool or heat a building by taking advantage of the near-constant temperatures between 50 and 59 degrees about 30 feet below the surface. There are about 50,000 systems installed in the United States each year. But all that equipment and digging comes at a high price — at least upfront. Home systems cost a few thousand dollars to more than $25,000. That's roughly double a comparable gas furnace. But because the geothermal systems are much more efficient, they tend to pay for themselves in five to 12 years through energy savings — although that period can vary depending on location and incentives). A few start-ups like Dandelion, a spinout from X, Google's "moonshot factory," are working on bringing down costs at residential scale. Their scaled-down rig is tackling the high cost of drilling, while in-house financing makes it easier and less expensive to sign up. The Inflation Reduction Act's generous incentives have also made the systems more attractive. For now, we'll contend with much higher prices to install these systems, even if the costs are recouped over decades of operation. Have questions for my next column? Write climatecoach@washpost.com. I read all your emails. | 
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