From Heating Oil to Geothermal Pumps in Stockholm

Concerned with rising prices, a Swedish coop has switched to a heat pump system in a move that could set a precedent in chilly Stockholm.

Electrically driven, the system works by drawing geothermal heat from a hole drilled in the bedrock below the coop. The hole contains a pipe filled with liquid (70% water and 30% ethanol). The liquid is circulated by the pump, with the heat then transferred into the water borne central heating and hot water system.

At current prices, the coop would consume $30,000 annually in heating oil. With the new system costing only $10,500 annually, the coop stands to save hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years.

A combination of high-energy prices, cold temperatures and estate values could result in more coops making the switch to heat pumps – which may not be welcome news to Fortum, the Finnish energy company that owns half of the district heating system and oversaw a 40% rise in energy prices since 2002.