Geothermal Heating and Cooling

Geothermal heating and cooling is proven, reliable and safe.

Geothermal heating and cooling is a green technology which works with the environment instead of against it. It significantly reduces energy usage and utility bills for homeowners and business owners.

It should be understood that geothermal heating and cooling pumps do not create heat, rather they move it from one area to another with the aid of electricity to operate the pump. The unit inside the building is essentially a refrigerator with extra valves to control the heat-exchange fluid. A major attraction of these units is that they can be used for both space heating and cooling, and thus remove the need for separate furnaces and air-conditioning units. Within the building, there is a heat-exchanger and the warmed (or cooled) air is circulated by a fan in a conventional manner.

Geothermal heating and cooling systems are considered to offer large reductions in energy consumption in buildings. When the system is properly designed, C02 emissions can be cut by up to 40%. The heating and air conditioning of buildings, both domestic and commercial, constitute a major component of overall energy consumption and this is why heat pumps have the potential to make a major contribution to energy savings.

Geothermal heating and cooling is clean

Geothermal heating and cooling systems work on a different principle than ordinary furnaces and air conditioners and they require little maintenance or attention form owners. Furnaces typically create heat by burning a fuel such as natural gas, fuel oil or propane. With geothermal heat pumps there is no need to create heat, there is no combustion. Instead the natural heat stored beneath the surface of the earth is collected in winter through a series of pipes, called a loop, that carries this heat into the building. An indoor geoexchange system then uses electrically-driven compressors and heat exchangers in a vapor compression cycle to concentrate and upgrade the collected heat and release it inside the building at a higher temperature. In typical systems, duct fans and/or hydronic systems distribute the heat throughout the dwelling.

In the summer excess heat is drawn from inside the building, expelled to the loop and absorbed by the Earth - much the same as a refrigerator draws heat from the interior - not by injecting cold air.

Geothermal heating and cooling is quiet

Geoexhange systems do the work that ordinarily requires two appliances - a furnace and an air conditioner. They run so quietly people don't even realize they're on. They are also compact in size, fitting into a basement or attic and some are small enough to fit into a closet or crawlspace. The indoor location also means the equipment is protected from mechanical breakdowns that could result from exposure to harsh weather conditions.

Geothermal heating and cooling pumps draw heat from the earth whose temperature is relatively constant at six feet beneath the surface. In winter it is much easier to capture heat from the soil at a moderate 50 degree F than from the atmosphere when the air temperature is extremely cold. Conversely, in summer,the relatively cool ground absorbs a building's waste heat more readily than the warm outdoor air. This is why geothermal heat pumps are so much more efficient than conventional heat pumps that use the outdoor air as their heat source or heat sink.

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