It may have only been over the last few years that you’ve heard of geothermal systems, but they’ve actually been around since the 1940s. However, with advancements in the heating and cooling industry, better products have made geothermal systems more accessible to homeowners than ever before. Geothermal systems work differently from traditional heating and cooling systems in that they utilize the ground to both heat and cool your home. We are going to look at how the system cools your home first.
How It Works
Geothermal systems use a ground loop and a heat pump to provide your home with cooling and heating. With any kind of heat pump system, neither cool air nor warm is generated; instead, heat is transferred from one location to another, with the help of a liquid, typically environmentally friendly anti-freeze. During the summer months, the heat inside your home is absorbed and transferred to the liquid in the ground loop. Once the heat has made it into the ground loop, the heat is released into the surrounding soil – this is known as a “heat sink”. In the winter, the opposite occurs: latent solar heat is absorbed by the ground loop, transferred to the heat pump where it is concentrated, then dispersed to your home.
Why Consider a Geothermal System?
One of the benefits of a geothermal system is the energy efficiency it offers. For every unit of energy expended to operate the heat pump, the system gives back 3-4 units, making these systems between 300-400% efficient. Another benefit is the fact that it offers both cooling and heating. These systems also have a longer lifespan than other, more traditional systems, as the heat pump typically lasts 20-25 years and the ground loop lasts 25-50 years.
As you can surmise, geothermal systems are not set up like traditional heating or cooling systems, so it’s important to hire experts who have experience installing and servicing geothermal systems. We are those kinds of experts at Climate Masters, so give us a call and schedule an appointment for your home in St. Augustine, FL.
