There is a way of heating your home in the winter, cooling it in the summer, and provide abundant hot water all year long by simply sing a geothermal heating and cooling system that will also lower the energy bill by up to 80%?
As time passes, it seems that more and more systems using renewable energy provided for free by our planet arise on the market to ease our life, lower our energy bills and reduce the carbon footprint.
How Does A Geothermal Heating and Cooling System Work?
Wherever we live on the planet, the temperature of the soil beneath our house remains constant, regardless of the season.
Just a few feet down, the earth has a constant temperature of 55°F or 12.7°C during the summer and also during the winter.
A Geothermal Heating and Cooling System also known as Geothermal Heat Pump System is used to harness the stable underground temperature and provide residential heating and cooling and also hot water for domestic use, with a higher efficiency compared to other systems such as AC units with inverter, natural gas or propane.
To access the underground temperature that remains the same all year long, the geothermal heat pump is connected to a series of underground loop pipes.
Pipes Installed Underground
These pipes are made from an extremely strong and long-lasting material because they need to survive being buried underground for more than half a century (the warranty provided by manufacturers usually covers 50+ years for the ground loop).
Water usually mixed with an environmentally friendly antifreeze solution, is pumped through the loop pipe system.
During the summer, the heat pump takes heat from the warm air in your home, and transfers it to the underground loop system, which radiates the heat away into the surrounding earth that is cool.
The cooled air is now circulated through the house using a traditional duct system.
During the winter, the system is reversed. Heat is now extracted from the ground using the same loop system.
The heat provided by the loop system is compressed to a much higher temperature by the heat pump, and is circulated through the house to keep it warm and cozy.
No Fossil Fuels Are Burned
No fossil fuels are burned in the process because the heat pump uses only electricity and the ground heat to produce the warm air required to heat the house.
Without a flame we don’t have emissions, and this means that a geothermal heat pump is much friendlier with the environment compared to traditional sources of heating (wood, natural gas, propane, diesel fuel, heating oil, etc.).
Geothermal systems are much smarter even if we compare them with high-efficiency gas furnaces because they produce and use energy in a more efficient way.
In case of a high-efficiency gas furnace, 1 unit of gas burned will generate 0.96 units of heat.
A geothermal system gives up to 5 units of heat for each unit of electricity used because it collects heat from the ground and use it to heat the house.
Geothermal Heating and Cooling System vs. Air-Source Heat Pump
During the summer, the air-source heat pump takes the heat from the house and moves it to the outside air.
If the outside temperature reaches high values, the air-source heat pump will work much harder to move the warm air inside the house to the outside air that is also hot.
This way, the air-source heat pump becomes less efficient exactly when we need it the most (when is very hot outside).
A geothermal heat pump system is not affected by this problem because it exchanges the warm air inside the house with the cooler earth that always keeps a constant temperature between 50°F and 60°F (10°C and 15.5°C) using only the underground loop system.
During the winter we have the same problem.
The air-source heat pump takes heat from the outside air, increase the temperature of the air, and use it to heat the house.
Air-Source Heat Pumps Stop Working in Extremely Cold Weather
However, if outside temperatures go below -4°F (-20°C), the air-source heat pump will no longer be able to take heat from the outside air and use it to heat the house, so it will effectively stop working.
Not to mention that the air-source heat pump consumes more energy (electricity), to heat the house when the outside temperatures start decreasing.
This is not the case for a geothermal heat pump because the underground loop system is not affected by the outside temperatures.
At the depth where the loop system is buried, the temperature of the soil is always constant (55°F).
This way, the geothermal heat pump system produces heat to warm the house without being affected by the outside temperatures, and will work properly even if the outside temperatures go below -4°F (-20°C).
A house that is properly insulated with minimal heat loss, will always ease the work of both the air-source heat pump and the geothermal heat pump system.
Types of Geothermal Heat Pump Systems
There are many ways to install a geothermal loop system.
1. Horizontal Loop
If the space allows, a horizontal loop system is the most cost-effective loop design for homeowners.
In this case, the sealed piping loop will be buried in trenches ranging from 3 to 6 feet deep (1 to 2 meters deep).
2. Vertical Loop
If space is limited, a vertical loop system is often the best choice, and here, the sealed piping loop will be inserted into small holes ranging from 150 to 400 feet deep (45 to 122 meters deep), and the installment is made using a well-drilling rig.
3. Pond Loop
If a nearby pond or lake is available, a pond loop system can be used.
In this case, the sealed piping loop is submerged close to the bottom of the pond or any other body of water available.
4. Open Loop System
If a well is available, an open loop system can be installed.
This system takes the water from the well, pumps it through the heat pump system, and then returns it to the environment in a renewable manner that is not affecting the well or the quality of the water.
What are Geothermal Heat Pump Systems Used For
Geothermal systems are not used only for residential heating and cooling, they can also provide hot water for domestic use.
However, because the geothermal system produces large volumes of hot water, it can be used for radiant under floor heating.
It can also be used to heat your walkways and driveways and melt the snow or ice formed there.
By using a geothermal heat pump system to heat and cool your home, you can pay up to 80% less on energy bills, and because geothermal energy is a renewable energy source, you are not polluting the environment, and you can get the system with 30% off using a federal tax credit.
Many states, local governments and utilities, also offer incentives for installing a geothermal system.
Final conclusion
If you plan to lower your energy bills without polluting the environment, you always need to look after the green technologies on the market that can qualify for incentives and federal tax credits.
I suppose that you also know that the federal tax credit amount is scheduled to decrease each year by 2021, so you need to act quickly because in 2019, there is still a 30% federal tax credit available for geothermal heat systems, but in the future, the amount granted by the federal government may decrease significantly, and this way, a geothermal system will become more expensive for the homeowner.
Your explanation of why geothermal heat pumps are much more environment-friendly really helped to read. I’ve been getting conscious about my carbon print lately, as I’ve had a lot of appliances emit a lot of smoke and emissions just to fuel themselves. With hopes of being easier on the surroundings and keeping my electricity consumption down, I’ll look for any HVAC contractors that can get me a geothermal heating system instead.