Are Geothermal Heat Pumps For You?
Over the past few months we have noticed quite a bit of interest in geothermal heating and cooling amongst our site visitors, and in particular in geothermal heat pumps. We've also had many questions from people about exactly what they are and how/if they should consider them as an eco-friendly heating/cooling option. These systems ARE incredibly promising technologies to heat and cool your home, but they're also more complicated than your typical AC or furnace unit. We'll try to help clear the air!
What is a Heat Pump?
What exactly is a heat pump? Well, just like it sounds, a heat pump moves heat from one place to another rather than creating heat or cooling by burning a fuel (like a furnace or boiler). They do this by taking advantage of the fact that liquid refrigerants absorb huge amounts of heat when they turn into gas via evaporation, and release that same heat when they are condensed back into liquids.
The most common type of heat pump, called an air-source heat pump, uses the energy in outdoor air to heat and cool. To cool a warm space, a heat pump evaporates the liquid refrigerant in copper coils indoors and condenses it (via a compressor) in similar coils outdoors. To heat a cold room, a valve is activated that reverses the process: the gaseous refrigerant is condensed indoors where it gives off heat, and it evaporates in the outdoor coils, picking up heat from outdoors in the process. Air conditioners and refrigerators use the same exact process to deliver their cooling performance.
Why are they such great heating and cooling options? For one, heat pumps can be incredibly efficient: because they move rather than create heat, they can often deliver 3-4x more energy into your home than you use to power the heat pump (high efficiency air conditioners have the same benefit). Unlike air conditioners, heat pumps also provide both heating and cooling, meaning you don't need two separate systems that only get used for half the year.
With all of these benefits, you might expect to see air source heat pumps everywhere, they're a bit more expensive up front. In very hot climates with low heating needs, air source heat pumps are no more efficient than air conditioners but are more expensive.
We get into quite a bit of detail below, but before you get into that here's a very quick summary of geothermal heat pumps:
The Joys of Geothermal
Fortunately, there's a great way around these limitations on traditional air source heat pumps. In even the most extreme climate regions, the temperature several feet underground is between 45 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Enter the geothermal heat pump (also called GeoExchange heat pumps and ground source heat pumps).
There are several options for installing a ground source heat pumps. The choice of which one makes sense in your area involves many factors, such as how much land you have available, what the underground conditions are like, and the skill / experience of installers in your area. As you scan these options you might think "wow, these must be expensive!", but due to the incredible energy efficiency of these systems payback periods can often be less than five years.
What is a Heat Pump?
What exactly is a heat pump? Well, just like it sounds, a heat pump moves heat from one place to another rather than creating heat or cooling by burning a fuel (like a furnace or boiler). They do this by taking advantage of the fact that liquid refrigerants absorb huge amounts of heat when they turn into gas via evaporation, and release that same heat when they are condensed back into liquids.
The most common type of heat pump, called an air-source heat pump, uses the energy in outdoor air to heat and cool. To cool a warm space, a heat pump evaporates the liquid refrigerant in copper coils indoors and condenses it (via a compressor) in similar coils outdoors. To heat a cold room, a valve is activated that reverses the process: the gaseous refrigerant is condensed indoors where it gives off heat, and it evaporates in the outdoor coils, picking up heat from outdoors in the process. Air conditioners and refrigerators use the same exact process to deliver their cooling performance.
Why are they such great heating and cooling options? For one, heat pumps can be incredibly efficient: because they move rather than create heat, they can often deliver 3-4x more energy into your home than you use to power the heat pump (high efficiency air conditioners have the same benefit). Unlike air conditioners, heat pumps also provide both heating and cooling, meaning you don't need two separate systems that only get used for half the year.
With all of these benefits, you might expect to see air source heat pumps everywhere, they're a bit more expensive up front. In very hot climates with low heating needs, air source heat pumps are no more efficient than air conditioners but are more expensive.
We get into quite a bit of detail below, but before you get into that here's a very quick summary of geothermal heat pumps:
- Geothermal (or ground source) heat pumps can be incredibly efficient, delivering 3-6x as much energy for heating and cooling as you use to power the equipment;
- They are in some ways a renewable energy system, since they use the heat contained in the earth to provide heating / cooling;
- They do require extensive installation work, including excavation or drilling to install subsurface pipes; and
- They are more expensive than traditional heating/cooling equipment, but the payback period is less than five years almost everywhere in the country due to their greater efficiency.
The Joys of Geothermal
Fortunately, there's a great way around these limitations on traditional air source heat pumps. In even the most extreme climate regions, the temperature several feet underground is between 45 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Enter the geothermal heat pump (also called GeoExchange heat pumps and ground source heat pumps).
There are several options for installing a ground source heat pumps. The choice of which one makes sense in your area involves many factors, such as how much land you have available, what the underground conditions are like, and the skill / experience of installers in your area. As you scan these options you might think "wow, these must be expensive!", but due to the incredible energy efficiency of these systems payback periods can often be less than five years.
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