Two Categories of Geothermal Systems in Missoula

  1. Direct well water cooling (No heat pump): 

This unit highlights geothermal use WITHOUT a heat pump and is for cooling ONLY. 


  1. Heat pump categories: 
  • Air to air- This option does not utilize geothermal energy as it is a system using air on both ends of the source and load.
  • Air to water -
  • Water to water
  • Water to air- common in residential homes 


Why Geothermal


  • Missoula has an abundance of geothermal recourses with a rich and somewhat shallow aquifer that makes implementing geothermal more efficient and with lower installation costs.


  • Missoula has over 7100 heating days and 450 cooling days making it among the nation's best states for geothermal energy. What are heating days?



  •  Geothermal is much more efficient than gas powered electricity with a 30-40% efficiency improvement with cooling and a 50-70% efficiency improvement with heating.

Case Studies

  • Montana state has currently dug 264 bore holes allowing 8 buildings to be heated and cooled 
  • Findings highlighted that energy usage fell by 25% from 2007 - 2023.
  • Savings of nearly $130,000 annually and over 2 million since its implementation in 2007.


Barriers

  • Many residential barriers include the costs and accessibility of digging bore holes to access the geothermal energy.
  • The costs of natural gas are much less than electricity costs making the heat pump system harder to break even on.