The Geothermal Advantage

Geothermal is today's way to heat and cool your home. Geothermal can reduce your heating and cooling cost by up to 70%. By using the earths natural thermal energy, concentrating it, and moving it from one location to another requires only a small amount of electrical energy.

Geothermal systems work on a different principle than an ordinary furnace/air conditioning system, and they require little maintenance or attention from homeowners.

Furnaces must create heat by burning a fuel--typically natural gas, propane, or fuel oil. This system can be unsafe and requires high maintenance to assure clean burning and that no carbon monoxide escapes into the home. Because non-renewable fuel is burned and combustion gases are created this system is not environmentally friendly.

Cooling requires a separate air conditioning system including an outside unit which can be noisy and is exposed to the natural deterioration of the weather.

With Geothermal however, there’s no need to create heat, hence no need for chemical combustion. Instead, the Earth’s natural heat is collected in winter through a series of pipes, called a loop, installed below the surface of the ground or submersed in a pond or lake. Fluid circulating in the loop carries this heat to the home. An indoor Geothermal system then uses a small amount of electricity to concentrate the earth’s energy, and release it through the home's existing duct system.

Geothermal also works differently than conventional heat pumps that use the outdoor air as their heat source. The typical heat pump is trying to extract heat from cold air, and cold from hot air. Geothermal systems don’t have to work as hard (which means they use less energy) because they draw heat from a source whose temperature is moderate and much closer to the desired temperature. The temperature of the ground or groundwater a few feet beneath the Earth’s surface remains relatively constant throughout the year at 55 degree Fahrenheit, even though the outdoor air temperature may fluctuate greatly with the change of seasons.

Studies show that approximately 70 percent of the energy used in a Geothermal heating and cooling system is renewable energy from the ground. The remainder is clean, electrical energy which is used to concentrate heat and move it from one location to another. In winter, the ground soaks up solar energy and provides a barrier to cold air. In summer, the ground heats up more slowly than the outside air, remaining at a constant temperature to cool your house with. This process is overall extremely efficient.

Geothermal has the additional advantage of being able to furnish most or all of your household hot water requirements whenever your system is running. When loop water moves across the coil it transfers a lot of heat, and a desuperheater is then used to recirculate your water around it and back through to your typical hot water heater, giving you free hot water.

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