Basic Facts About Geothermal Heat Pumps

A Geothermal Heat Pump is based on the concept of moving heat from one place to the other, but instead of taking heat from the outside air, we are now pulling it from the earth.

Simply put, a GHP system moves the heat from the earth (or a groundwater source) into the home in the winter, and pulls the heat from the house and discharges it into the ground in the summer. While it may get hot in the summer and freezing in the winter; a few feet below the surface, the ground remains at a relatively constant temperature. This allows you to maintain even heating and cooling in your home throughout the year with minimal back-up heat.

The mechanical installation of a Geothermal Heat Pump is pretty simple, it goes in much like a furnace, just bigger. You can either attach a GHP to a traditional ducted system or apply it to an in-floor radiant system. The sticky part is the ground loop; please CLICK HERE to view ground loop applications.

Now, there is almost always a way to go geothermal on a property, it is generally how much you are willing to pay to get it. For instance, if you have a small lot and want to go GHP, we can drill all the holes (200 ft deep each) and lay all the tubing under the house before it is built. If you want to use an easy rule of thumb here is one easy equation; take your air to air heat pump bid and triple it. Sometimes it is only double, but be ready for triple. I am not trying to scare you away from doing it, but the high cost is just a reality.

While all homes can save money and benefit from a GHP installation; the best application for this type of heating system is the large or giant home. As far as savings go, large or giant homes have the most to gain from a GHP and can minimize their environmental impact by up to 72%. Case studies have shown that a large, 3,400 sq. ft. home can operate on an average of about $34 per month year around. Compare this to an average of $300 per month for a high efficiency furnace system running on propane and you can see how big the pay-offs can get, especially on the giant projects!

There are, of course, many common questions associated with this type of system. Remember, you can call me anytime if you would like to chat about this or anything else that is on your mind.