George W. Bush, the Queen of England, Sir Elton John, and Sir Richard Branson probably don’t have much in common, but they all have installed ground source heat pumps. And it’s not just a technology for the rich and famous. Habitat for Humanity installed heat pumps in its Oklahoma City development, Hope Crossing, because the low operating costs would help future residents save on their utility bills.

Sixteen percent of America’s 18.8 million barrel per day oil consumption is burned to heat our homes and businesses, and two-thirds of that demand is in the Northeast (New England, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania). Swapping out oil consumption for electric ground source heat pumps offers a low cost, low pollution heating source that can generate $20 billion in savings and is a crucial step to achieving RMI’s Reinventing Fire vision in the Northeast.

The region spends over $14 billion every year on fuel oil—consisting of both distillate fuel oil, which is nearly identical to diesel fuel, and residual fuel oil, which is a heavy, viscous fuel also called “bunker fuel.” That means the six million residential and 450,000 commercial customers who use oil spend an annual average of $1,700 and $8,900, respectively, to heat their homes and businesses.

via Ground Source Heat Pumps: Good Enough For Queen Elizabeth So Why Not For The Northeast? | ThinkProgress.