The Advantages Of Geothermal Heating For A Homeonwer
You don't have to have your home parked over a geyser in order to benefit from geothermal heating and cooling for your home, yet there are those who think that geothermal heating only refers to harnessing the earth's heat in order to provide heating for a home. That type of heating requires a heat source that is close to the earth's surface. While that type of heating will not work in most neighborhoods, a ground-source heat pump will.
What Is a Heat Pump?
In order to understand the term ground-source heat pump, it is important to first understand what a heat pump is. A heat pump consists of two different sets of coils. One set of coils will be located on the outside of your home and the other on the inside. When heating a home, the outer coils will extract heat from the outside air and the inner set of coils will vent the heat into your home. When cooling, the inner coils will extract heat from the air in your home, and the outer coils will vent that heat into the outside air. The heat pump described above is at the mercy of the fluctuating air temperatures outside your home. The more extreme the temperature is outside, the worse the efficiency of your heat pump will be. A ground-source heat pump can correct this issue.
What Does Ground-Source Mean?
To avoid the fluctuating nature of air temperatures, you need to go below ground. In fact, the temperature of the earth five feet below the surface will stay between 50-60 degrees year round. A heat pump can extract heat from the earth to heat your home, and vent heat into the endless heat sink the earth provides to cool your home. All you have to do is bury a set of specially designed set of coils in the ground outside your home. In this way, a ground-source heat pump can be up to 600% efficient. By way of comparison, an air-source heat pump is only 275% efficient at best.
Geothermal heating and cooling can become a reality for a homeowner, no matter whether your home is located next to hot springs or in the middle of suburbia. As long as you have enough room on your property for the coils a ground-source heat pump uses, you can use the heat in the earth to provide heating for your home. In contrast to a heat pump that taps into a source of heat like a geyser or hot spring, a ground-source heat pump can efficiently heat and cool your home. If you want to see if geothermal heating and cooling can work for you, talk to an HVAC contractor.
Learn more about heating by Polar Refrigeration Sales & Service Ltd or similar companies by getting in contact with local heating experts.