A Geothermal Heat Pump (GHP)is a device that extracts heat from beneath the ground. It functions based on the fact that heat will flow from higher temperature materials to lower temperature materials by conduction or by convection (air currents). Geothermal pumps absorb energy from the ground or bodies of water to provide space and water heating. This works because the earth absorbs about 50% of the sun’s energy that reaches the surface of the planet.

Ground source heating and cooling will give great comfort and be cost-effective with environmentally-friendly technology which uses our planet’s ability to store energy as heat. Geothermal heat pump systems move the heat from Earth or from water into buildings, or from buildings right back into Earth. A little bit of electricity is employed for operating fans, pumps, controls, and a little compressor.

Geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) are among the most efficient and comfortable heating and cooling technologies currently available for homes and other buildings. These ground-source heat pumps use the natural heat storage capacity of the earth or ground water to provide energy efficient heating and cooling. Most GHPs are installed with “Desuperheaters” which collect waste heat from the compressor and use it to pre-heat domestic hot water for free. This is a new money-saving technology for homes.

Even though the cost of installation of a geothermal system can be several times that of traditional heating and cooling system, the additional costs are returned in energy savings in 5 to 10 years. The life of such a system is estimated at 25 years for the interior components and 50 or more years for the ground loop piping. Approximately 50,000 geothermal heating systems are installed in the US each year. Geothermal heat pumps are practical in most areas. They can use the Earth as a heat source in the winter and a heat sink in the summer.

Quite a number of new residential systems come with desuperheaters, by which excess heat is transferred to the home’s hot water storage tank from the geothermal heat pump’s compressor, providing a highly efficient means of heating water. But in the spring and autumn, during which the geothermal heat pump system does not operate, the desuperheater will not provide hot water. However, because of the geothermal system’s significant advantage in efficiency compared to other water heating methods, ‘full demand’ systems using a separate heat exchanger to meet hot water needs cost-effectively are now being offered by some manufacturers.

Geothermal Heating Systems utilize the relatively constant temperature of the ground or water several feet below the surface as a source of heating and cooling. Geothermal Heat Pumps can also provide hot water with virtually no additional energy requirements.

- Ryan McCall

Popularity: 7% [?]

Related Content

Subscribe to the post comments feeds or Leave a trackback