Geothermal Heating And Cooling Systems
Heating and cooling homes and businesses using the relatively constant temperature of the earth are referred to as Geothermal heating and cooling or Geoexchange. These systems take advantage of the more or less constant temperature found below the ground to transfer heat into the building in the winter and transfer heat out of the building in the summer.
How It Works
The device used to accomplish this exchange is called a geothermal heat pump. (It is also referred to as a Ground Source Heat Pump.) It operates just like a regular air to air heat pump, except instead of using air as the heat exchange medium; it uses a heat transfer fluid, usually water with an antifreeze solution. This fluid is circulated through a closed loop system of tubes buried in the ground either in long trenches or deep well-like vertical bore holes.
This fluid then picks up the heat from the ground and sends it to the heat pump which in turn transfers the heat to the building during the winter. In summer the system reverses the cycle to cool the building and the heat pump transfers the heat in the building to the fluid where it in turn is transferred back into the ground. It's really a very simple concept and a very efficient one too.
Advantages Of Geothermal Systems
Geothermal heating and cooling systems are a huge energy saver! Ground source heat pumps use 25% TO 70% LESS ELECTRICITY than standard electric heating and cooling systems. Conventional air to air heat pumps try to extract the least bit of heat from the cold winter air and are not efficient in very cold weather, but a ground source heat pump has the constant 50 to 60 degree Fahrenheit ground temperature to draw on making them far more efficient. Electricity is generally not needed to actually produce heat, only to pump the fluid through the system, operate the compressor and run the fan. A geothermal heat pump can move up to 4 units of heat for every unit of electricity needed to power the system. The most efficient gas furnaces and boilers at 95% AFUE pale in comparison to the almost 400% efficiency of a geothermal system! According to the EPA, geoexchange systems save homeowners more than 30% to 70% in heating costs and 20% to 50% in cooling costs compared to conventional systems.
As a bonus, with the addition of a desuperheater, a geothermal system can provide free domestic hot water in the summer because the extracted heat from the building can be exchanged to the domestic hot water heater before it is returned to the earth. You even get lower cost domestic hot water in the winter!
Geothermal systems are also environmentally friendly. They have a very low carbon footprint because they do not burn any fossil fuels and in fact, they are even a partially renewable resource. The EPA found these systems to have the lowest environmental impact of all technologies analyzed.
Cost Vs. ROI of Geothermal Systems
We knew there had to be at least one bad thing about geothermal systems, right? Well here it is. Geothermal systems are very expensive to install. Costs can vary greatly, but a typical system will cost 2 to 3 times what a conventional heating and cooling system costs. However, the good news is the payback is relatively short! At an average savings of 50% on heating costs and 35% on cooling costs, (depending on circumstances), a typical geothermal system will pay for itself in 4-10 years. And remember, the largest cost of the system is the installation of the ground loop piping which will last for 20 to 30 years or more. After the initial payback, the homeowner just keeps saving and saving on his utility bills!
There is no doubt about it. geothermal heat pump systems are the way to go if you can afford the initial installation. They are good for the environment and, in the long run, good for your wallet too. Like we always say, consider your particular situation and run the numbers to see if geothermal is right for you. We are here to help you in every step of the way. Feel free to contact us
