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Using Geothermal Heat Pumps In Your Home
The Earth is hot, really hot. Around the planet there is a great deal of heat energy being created. On the commercial level, geothermal heat from the planet is used to create electricity, but it is possible for homeowners to also create power, heat power, through the heat of the Earth around them. This can be done using a geothermal heat pump.
A geothermal heat pump is a central heating and cooling system that pumps heat from and to the ground. It effectively uses the ground as a heat source in the wintertime, but as a sink for heat in the summertime. The ground has a moderate temperature, so the geothermal heat pump uses the ground to increase the efficiency and reduce the costs of heating and cooling a home.
When the day is cold, the heat pump will use the heat from the sun on the ground to put heat into the home. This means that fireplaces and furnaces do not have to be used as much, or even at all.
When the day is warm, the heat pump will transfer the heat from a cool space to a warm space.
The heat pump uses a vapor-compression refrigeration cycle to move the heat. Heat pumps have been found to be much more efficient than pure electric heaters, especially when they are being used to heat up a home. The reason for this is because the temperature under the ground is much more stable than the temperatures in the air throughout the entire year. In the winter, ground temperature, just under the surface, is warmer than the air during the winter, but cooler than the air during the summer.
Naturally, the cost to setup this system is higher than that of setting up a furnace, but the savings earned from the system, which gives free heat and cooling, can be realized in just three to 10 years. The geothermal heat pump’s lifespan is about 25 years for the components in the home, and 50 years or more for the loop that is in the ground. Currently, there are over one million unites installed across the planet, generating 12 gigawatts of thermal capacity. Each year, the overall growth of the geothermal heat pump industry grows by about 10 percent per year.
The Earth is a great place to get heat, or to put heat, so if you want real energy efficiency, a geothermal heat pump may be for you.