What is a geothermal heat pump? It doesn't take long poking around HVAC websites to find geothermal heat pump references. Most discuss how green, energy efficient, and air comfort effective ground-source technology can be. What some might forget to mention is what exactly a geothermal heat pump
is, and how exactly they work.
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Like many of the best English words, we stole geothermal from another language. In Greek, geo means earth, and thermal means heat, so geothermal literally means "heat from the earth". We use the word to describe underground heat in a geological context, or technologies that use underground heat.
In this case, the latter applies to geothermal heat pumps. It is the "heat from the Earth" that allows this technology to operate so efficiently. They also reduce carbon emissions while, most importantly, saving homeowners money.
How do they work?
In most parts of the country, in any season, if you dig a couple feet down, you'll find that the temperature remains stable throughout the year. Dirt is an excellent insulator and subsurface temperatures don't vary a whole lot when the sun is blazing or the snow is blowing. This creates opportunity for geothermal heat pump operation.
Geothermal heat pumps use trapped heat to warm your home in winter, then they put it back in summer during their cooling cycle. Very little efficiency is lost in this process, which is where the energy efficiency ratio can skyrocket.
Anything else?
Wind, rain, and sun can really hammer a regular heating and air system. Geothermal heat pumps do not have this problem, so these units can last for decades. So, if you're looking to improve your yearly costs and stay comfortable, then a "heat from the Earth" heat pump is something
you should think about.
