How efficient is a geothermal system?

Geothermal exceeds 400% efficiency or 4 COP. For every dollar of electricity you buy, you can expect to get four dollars worth of heat in return. Think of an electric plug-in heater, this is 100% efficient – you buy one dollar of electricity and you get one dollar of heat. With geothermal you buy electricity to run the compressor and pumps to transfer heat as opposed to directly creating heat.