When it comes to heating a home during the winter months, or cooling a home during the summer months, there is no cheaper way than with geothermal. Unlike electric, or gas home heating, geothermal does not create heat where it didn’t already exist, but merely transfers heat from one place to another. This is done using a refrigerant, and heat exchanger much like your freezer of fridge does, on a much larger, and far more energy efficient scale.
Geothermal works on the principle that there is always dormant heat in the ground of around 50 degrees regardless of the time of year, or temperature outside. A series of fluid filled pipes imbedded at least 6 feet in the ground absorb the heat and brings it back into the home, where a heat exchanger extracts it. Piping can either run horizontally along a large property, twisting back and forth to cover a large amount of ground, or vertically where space is more limited. Such a system is extremely effective for providing a steady heat that doesn’t dry out the air in your home, like a standard gas furnace would, and with a monthly bill far less than either electric or gas. To install a geothermal hvac system in an existing home can be quite the investment, ranging in the tens of thousands of dollars, but for a new home being built, a geothermal system often won’t incur much more additional costs, but with substantial savings in the future.
When space is limited, such as in the city, geothermal offers a great alternative to having a large combustion furnace taking up additional space in your home, and an air conditioning condensor taking up space outside. You and your neighbors will probably appreciate the reduction in sound as well, as heat exchangers create virtually none compared to a bulky AC unit. Since all components are located inside your home or underground, a geothermal system also adds esthetics outside your home, as well as additional garden space where a current AC system may be located.
If Maintenance is required on the in ground piping, repairs can be quite expensive, so ensuring that the ground in your area is suitable for such a system, as well as any previous owners preformed regular maintenance is very important. Most maintenance and repairs will be done on the heat exchanger located in your home however, as the in ground piping will hopefully never need repairs.
Always check to ensure a new or current geothermal system complies with local, state, and federal laws. In some areas, open loop systems that work off a local water supply (in one well, and out the other) are illegal, so a close loop system (pipes always filled with the same water/antifreeze solution) must be used. Geothermal may also be subject to many ‘green’ financial incentives such as federal or state rebate programs, so check with your contractor on what your entitled to.
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