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Geothermal How it works Geothermal heating and cooling is one of the newest innovations to the HVAC industry. The technology has existed for several decades now becoming more popular because of low operating costs, government incentives, tax credits and improved reliability. The system utilizes either a constant ground temperature or a water source to reject heat or absorb cold from the unit allowing the design to work well in all climates. Before geothermal technology manufactures developed air cooled heat pumps which basically operated air conditioners in reverse to utilize the heat generated from the refrigerant system. These systems are still popular in the warmer climates but lack in performance in colder regions. The problem with this is that colder climates do not allow the units to reject the cold from the equipment to produce enough heat to satisfy the buildings demand. The beauty in geothermal technology is that ground temperature, in most parts of the world, are a constant temperature of around 50 degrees. Geothermal systems use a method of routing fluid from the unit through piping buried in ground or in a body of water to transfer undesired heat or cold from the equipment allowing the unit to develop the temperature necessary to temper the building. The typically referred to as a pump and dump system. The water is usually pumped from a dedicated water well and dumped into a reservoir or lake. Depending on the application, both systems work well. However, pump and dump systems do require routine cleaning depending on water quality where as loop fields do not.
Payback Geothermal heating and cooling has many paybacks. The greatest benefit is the low operating expense. Electrical utility companies offer a reduced rate for utilizing geothermal systems. Utility companies benefit from this because in the summer when demand is high, geothermal systems use less power reducing load on the grid. In the winter when demand is less, they are able to offer power for heating at a fraction of the cost of traditional petro-sources natural gas or propane, typically a third of the cost of most common heating fuels depending on your area.
Another fine feature of geothermal equipment is that the air temperature is less than most gas furnaces allowing the unit to run longer and temper the building more even reducing hot and cold sways in temperature. Because the system operates with electricity instead of gas, no emissions are emitted making it cleaner and safer to operate and less of an impact on the environment.
Costs One weakness of geothermal heating and cooling is the initial investment. Most system range from tow to three times the cost of a traditional gas forced air system. Arguably geothermal system will pay for themselves within the first two to three years of operation. Because of lower utility bills, plus the growing cost of natural gas / propane make geothermal technology more sensible in the future.
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