For homeowners considering a different approach to home heating, geothermal pump systems really offer a viable alternative choice today. Utilizing the heat that already exists naturally, these systems allow a home to harness what is essentially free warmth to keep a home from going cold.
How a Geothermal Pump Works
The earth retains a stable temperature below the soil. At about the three-foot level, the earth is basically unaffected by what is going on with the weather above. Whether it’s hot summer or freezing ice, below that three-foot mark, the soil is generally unaffected. Unless one is in the frozen tundra, the earth stays relatively unchanged. That is why the top three to five feet are called the farming layer. The rest is compacted. It’s this same layer that a geothermal design goes after.
Using a piping network, a geothermal system runs a grid, either horizontally or vertically, within the earth. The system then runs a pump that moves air through the same channels. The air is brought to the level of temperature of the soil. While this might not seem very warm at first blush, once pumped back into a home, it raises the house temperature considerably versus the outside cold. By keeping this circulating, the entire home temperature is raised accordingly, and the outside cold can’t change it.
The Benefits of a Geothermal Approach
From the cleaner approach the utility of the system, a geothermal heating system provides multiple advantages for the homeowner as well as the community in general. The system can easily outlast a traditional heating system, which at best may last 15 years. Instead, a geothermal pump can go for decades. It works both ways, with heating and cooling, depending on what the weather is outside and the temperature accessed underneath the soil.
The energy efficiency of a geothermal system is incredibly greater than a typical traditional heating system. Where the traditional system uses energy fed from a utility, the geothermal system recycles and continues to use the same source for heat. While it won’t heat a home up to 90 degrees per se (which is unhealthy anyways), it provides incredible savings by simply reducing the need for heating in the first place. That ends up being huge savings for consumers. A traditional heating system can still stay in place for additional needs, but it reduces that cost by anywhere from a third to two-thirds the typical cost.
As noted earlier, a geothermal pump has a dual function. During the winter, it heats the home. During the summer it can cool a home. So, the savings don’t stop with the turning of the seasons. Instead, it just continues to keep going, being maximized year round.
Getting Started and Expectations
The first big step needed is the land where the piping for the geothermal system will go. Again, the piping can be installed vertically or horizontally, so there is flexibility in terms of where the best fit can be. However, at a minimum, some fit of land is needed for the basic system.
With spacing taken care of, the installation then goes through and the connection to the house is established. As the geothermal pump then turns on, it starts moving the air through the home and the benefits of the change begin. The amount of adjustment that occurs as a result of the pump actively raises the temperature during winter and cools the home accordingly at the opposite end of the year. Because the ground is always stable, it acts as an offset above the soil. A geothermal heat pump installation can be life-changing. Today’s technology really brings the approach into vogue, and it proves the efficacy of the system now. With improved technology and the flexibility of installation, it can be matched to a home’s architecture for maximum effectiveness. Again, it provides multiple benefits, both for the homeowner and the environment in general, and it helps them move away from 100 percent direct fossil fuel consumption for heating and home temperature control.