SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A Yellowknife blasting and drilling company is getting into hot water to save people money on heating costs.

DNX Drilling recently acquired an Italian built Casagrande, a $700,000 US remote-operated drill that general manager Rick Miller says can penetrate the North's rocky surface and will save Yellowknifers hundreds of dollars when warming their homes.

Drillers Percy Atkins, left, and Trevor MacNab, right, and DNX Drilling general manager Rick Miller, centre, stand in front of a recently acquired geothermal drill, which will tap into underground hot water that can be used to heat Yellowknife homes and save people hundreds of dollars in heating costs, according to Miller. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

"Our plan is to supply homes and businesses in the North with geothermal heat," said Miller. "We are the only company in the North doing this right now."

For a machine that cost a total of $850,000 US with the compressor is factored in, the Casagrande works simply enough.

The machine drills around 100-to-120 meters underground to reach hot water, which is directed to a heat pump that runs into a home's heating system.

"That way, you don't have to use oil anymore," he said. "Most homes in Yellowknife spend between $700 to $1,000 a month in oil heat.

"I know I spend $1,000."

But with the new drill, Miller predicts heating costs could be reduced to about $100 a month.

"All (that's required) is the electricity to run your heat pump," he said, adding Yellowknifers living in big homes will especially benefit.

"If you go up to the Niven Lake subdivision and see those homes that are 5,000 or 6,000 square feet, you know they're paying a couple grand a month to heat it."

Saving money isn't the only reason behind the purchase, said Miller.

"We're trying to go green. We're trying to bring an alternate, renewable heat source to people's homes up here and get them off their reliance on oil."

To assess the machine's operating costs, DNX will conduct a feasibility study on the home of Cory Vanthuyne, a resident of Niven Lake, as soon as DNX gets the compressor for the machine, which is expected to arrive this week.

"We'll do it for free," said Miller. "We're going to see how long it takes us to drill, how hot the water is, what is the best depth to drill at."

Percy Atkins, a driller with DNX, said the Casagrande has another built-in advantage - because it's remote operated, it's a lot safer.

"You don't have to be standing right next to it when it's spitting up mud," he said.

DNX may be the first company to put geothermal drilling to the test, but the city of Yellowknife is also funding a $300,000 feasibility study that will look into the possibility of pumping heat within the earth to the surface to heat buildings in Yellowknife.