Feb 21 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Erik Robinson The Columbian, Vancouver, Wash.

If U.S. Rep. Brian Baird had his way, every American household would use their big "economic stimulus" payment to emulate Catherine and Adam Wilson.

The Vancouver couple recently replaced their furnace with an energy-efficient geothermal heating and cooling system. On Tuesday, as part of a daylong tour of green-minded schools and businesses, Baird stopped by the Wilsons' house to check out their new ground-source heat pump.

"I think people want to do the right thing," said Baird, a Vancouver Democrat. "They often don't know what the right thing is."

In Baird's view, the Wilson's new energy-efficient furnace is just the sort of thing individual Americans can do to ease the effects of climate change.

A circulating system of pipes carries water through the furnace and out of the house, where it taps into the Earth's year-round natural capacity to insulate.

The pipes circulate a mixture of inert methanol and water.

"It brings in a constant temperature of 54 degrees," said John Lower, owner of Total Energy Concepts of Vancouver.

While that may not sound like much, it effectively means the house has an ever-present baseline temperature of 54 degrees. That requires a lot less energy to heat than a house chilled by frigid winter temperatures.

Conversely, the system brings in a natural source of cooling water during hot summer days.

From Baird's point of view, it's a sensible investment that reduces energy use -- and, not coincidentally, reduces the emission of greenhouse gases warming the globe.

Baird was on the losing side of a 380-34 House vote in favor of the $168 billion stimulus package earlier this month.

The rebates, ranging from $300 to $1,200, are intended to jolt consumer spending in the face of an economic recession.

"We're going to borrow that money from foreign governments, to be paid back with interest by our kids, with no lasting benefit to the society," Baird said. "It's just a fix. It's like methamphetamine, financially."

Baird said he would have supported the stimulus package if at least part of it had been targeted toward energy-efficiency, conservation or development of renewable energy.

"Absolutely," he said. "In a heartbeat."

The Wilsons endured an energy overhaul for their 3,000-square-foot house on Manzanita Way, which was built in 1959.

Lower noted that the couple agreed to have new insulation placed in their home to maximize their investment of a highly efficient new furnace.

Then, the company excavated 6 feet below the surface of the back yard and laid 3,600 feet of piping.

Catherine Wilson said the system probably cost an extra $5,000 beyond a standard high-efficiency natural gas-fired furnace, but the couple expects to recoup the investment in long-term energy savings.

"It seemed like something we could do, and the time was right," she said.