Residential Geothermal Heating 

Geothermal Heating and Cooling

Geothermal has been the preferred type of heating system used in many homes in the U.S. today. The main reason for this is that this heating system enables people to lower their energy consumption and save money as well. Other benefits include reliability, safety and the absence of noise as its operates in your home to give you and your family enough warmth during the cold months.

Operating system

A great advantage of residential geothermal heating is that it utilizes the earth’s natural heat. Unlike standard furnace, it does not use fuel such as gas, propane or fuel oil to create heat which normally results in chemical combustion. It makes use of a geothermal heat pump or the so-called ground source heat pump to provide heat to the home. 

As the geothermal heating system operates, it collects the natural heat from the earth’s surface via a series of pipes commonly known as a loop. This loop is installed underneath the ground. What happens then is the fluid circulating inside the loop brings the heat to the home after which the compressors and heat exchangers spread the heat in high temperature to the home. How the heat is spread to different rooms is the work of duct fans. 

During summer, the cooling system works in reverse to provide cool air to the home. In other words, the geothermal heat pump transfers heat out of the house via the loop and back to the ground. This is the same process used in refrigeration. 

Normally, two appliances such as the furnace and air conditioner are required to do the work of a geothermal system. This type, however, can already do both heating and cooling making it very economical. 

This technology was conceptualized based on the fact that temperature beneath the earth’s surface is constant all year round. It is also warmer compared to the air above it during the winter season and cooler during the summer months. 

Benefits

Homeowners can get many benefits from using geothermal heating systems. Firstly, they are guaranteed of continuous warmth during winter as the system uses natural heat from the ground. This natural heat is renewable and therefore, ensures sustainability. The greatest part of this is that they can breathe in clean air in their homes all the time as only natural heat from the earth is utilized in the process. 

Secondly, they can enjoy reduced energy consumption which leads to lower electricity bill and therefore, big savings. The cost of using residential geothermal heating is very predictable and homeowners are less likely to experience high costs in their energy consumption. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the system can save from 30-70 percent in heating costs and 20-50 percent in cooling costs. It may be expensive to install at first but homeowners will be able to recover the costs in the long term. 

A third benefit is that this system emits no noise. In other words, homeowners can enjoy their daily activities without having to worry about any sound from their geothermal heat pump. The reason for this is that no fans are present to spread heat throughout the home hence, you are always assured of a quiet atmosphere.