Geothermal heating can strengthen property value, says QHeat

Geothermal heating can offer real estate investors more than lower energy costs, with the potential to reduce exposure to energy price volatility and support the long-term value of buildings, according to QHeat CEO and co-founder Erika Salmenvaara.

Speaking at the Geothermal District Heating and Cooling Days in Dublin on 3 September 2026, Salmenvaara approached geothermal from the perspective of a real estate investor rather than an energy technology developer. Before co-founding Finnish geothermal company QHeat, she spent around 20 years in real estate investment.

“Investors don’t buy energy systems, they buy future cash flows,” Salmenvaara told participants.

The presentation formed part of the opening programme of the two-day event, organised by the European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC) and the Geothermal Association of Ireland. The conference is focused on expanding geothermal heating and cooling markets and developing models that can support wider deployment in Europe.

From energy cost to strategic asset

Salmenvaara argued that the real estate sector has traditionally treated heating as a utility expense, with energy investments often evaluated largely through operating costs and payback periods.

That calculation is changing as energy costs, regulation and security of supply have a more direct impact on property cash flows. In this context, she said geothermal can help protect net operating income by making heating costs more predictable and reducing exposure to external fuel markets.

“The biggest benefit of geothermal may not be the lower energy bills. It may be the lower uncertainty,” she said.

Salmenvaara linked this argument to the International Energy Agency’s latest assessment of heat pumps. The IEA’s Heat Pump Monitor 2026 identifies energy security, grid flexibility and industrial development among the benefits of heat pump deployment. It estimates that heat pumps avoided around 53 billion cubic metres of natural gas use for building heating across Europe, Japan and China in 2025.

Heat pumps are particularly relevant to QHeat’s approach. The company’s geothermal systems combine heat pumps with deeper geothermal wells to provide heating and cooling. Salmenvaara said this can improve the efficiency of electrified heating while also creating opportunities for thermal storage and cooling.

Finland provides an example of this model. The country does not have the same deep geothermal aquifers available in some other European markets, but has seen extensive deployment of ground-source heat pumps.

ThinkGeoEnergy has previously reported on QHeat projects in Finland, including the geothermal heating plant built for Vantaan Energia in Varisto, Vantaa. The facility started operating in 2023 with three approximately 800-metre wells supplying heat to the district heating network.

QHeat reports lower purchased energy and emissions

Salmenvaara presented operating figures from QHeat projects to illustrate the potential impact of the company’s geothermal systems.

According to QHeat, its systems can reduce purchased energy by up to 80% compared with combustion-based heat production and heating emissions by up to 95% compared with fossil-fuel heating. The company also reports that its systems can save more than 70% of required power-grid capacity compared with direct electric heating.

Salmenvaara said these effects matter to property investors because they can influence both operating expenditure and exposure to future energy-market risks.

She also pointed to the surface area required for different renewable energy technologies. Geothermal wells have a relatively small surface footprint, which can be relevant in dense urban developments where land itself represents a significant part of an asset’s value.

In her view, the value of that land is often missing from comparisons between renewable heating options.

From energy resilience to property value

The final part of Salmenvaara’s presentation focused on whether improved energy performance can translate into higher real estate values.

She cited research indicating that sustainably constructed properties can achieve higher sales values than conventional buildings, although the scale of such a “green premium” varies considerably between markets, property types and certification systems.

Research on sustainable real estate has found evidence of higher prices for some certified buildings, but also shows wide variation in the size and causes of those premiums. Energy savings are only one component, alongside factors such as building quality, regulatory resilience and market demand.

For investors, Salmenvaara argued that energy resilience may therefore increasingly sit alongside established considerations such as location, tenant quality and lease length.

Geothermal heating can contribute by reducing exposure to fuel-price shocks, supporting more predictable operating costs and offering flexibility through heating, cooling and thermal storage.

The argument, she said, is ultimately about looking beyond a simple comparison of energy costs and considering how an energy system affects the future competitiveness and exit value of a property.

The Geothermal District Heating and Cooling Days continues in Dublin on 4 September with a workshop focused on finance, risk and the development of investable geothermal heating and cooling projects in Ireland.