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Frequently Asked Questions About Geothermal Systems

As with any service, consumers will always have a set of questions and concerns that are common amongst all of them. These are the inquiries you should be asking if you want to make sure that you walk away with the best HVAC system for your home.

What Does HVAC Mean?

HVAC stands for Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning. This acronym is used to describe any home instalment that is designed to control the quality of the air and temperatures inside a home. And on top of standard air conditioning and furnaces, you now have ground source heat pumps to choose from as well.

HVACAs of today, Geothermal heat pumps are considered the top contender compared to the others because they can do both cooling and heating at the flip of a button. You won’t need multiple installations or devices for different weather or climates. It’s a complete package.

It’s also better than your regular air source heat pump because it doesn’t disperse gathered heat into the air where it still contributes to temperature increases. Ground source heat pumps can return heat back into the earth and away from the interior of your home. They can also lower the temperature in your home with the help of Geothermal energy.

What is Geothermal Energy or Give me a Geothermal Energy Definition

From the name itself, Geothermal Energy is heat energy that comes from within the Earth. As you already know, the inside of our planet isn’t just made of rocks and dirt. It’s a complex system of layers that is composed of different substances. On top of that, there’s hot, molten rock circulating these layers.

This molten rock called magma goes around the earth, heating its various sections to incredibly high temperatures. Geothermal energy is harnessed by digging deep into the earth and using these high temperatures to our advantage.

You usually hear this when talking about large power plants that provide power to cities and corporations. But you’ll be surprised that it also applies to smaller households. These smaller, but effective systems are known as geo thermal heating and cooling systems.

How do Home Geothermal Heat and Cooling Systems Work?

When you have this sort of system installed into your home, you won’t have to dig thousands of feet deep into the earth. Depending on the system that works best for your space engineers will dig a hole in the ground just a few feet below the surface.

When the desired depth is reached, a piping system is installed into the cavity they’ve created and then buried once more. After that, this piping system is then connected to a heat-exchange unit and water heating unit inside your house to complete the installation.

When the system starts working water and anti-freezing substances are circulated through the piping system buried in the ground. What this liquid will do is it will take the high temperatures from the ground and transfer them into your home where your heat exchange unit and water heater are located. These units then distribute the higher temperatures throughout your home, keeping things warm in winter.

During summer, this system can be used for keeping your home cool by reversing the direction of the pump. Instead of taking the heat from the ground, the heat pump system takes the heat from inside the house and disperses it back into the ground.

What are the Benefits?

BenefitsYou don’t just get a cooler or warmer home when you need it. This HVAC system also saves you plenty of money. You won’t need air conditioning units as much as you used to. You also won’t be needing a furnace to keep things toasty when it’s cold. That means you’re cutting down on your house expenses. That means huge savings.

On top of that, the system itself is almost self-sustaining unlike furnaces and AC units that need fuel to keep on working. It’s a simple yet effective method of controlling the temperature in your house.

In earlier times, you would need to have air conditioning and furnaces to control how hot or cool things are in the house. That meant two separate installations. But with a heat pump, you only need one.

Sounds Great. How Much?

This is one of the few things you won’t like about this system. It’s a bit costly to initially set up. Although it’s a simple dig and placement operation, you could be looking at a geothermal heating installation cost beyond the $40,000 mark. Before you go into sticker shock there are income tax credits available for 30% of the total cost of a new geothermal system, including parts and labor. Plus you may be able to find additional local rebates from your energy company. Typically after rebates and credits you will be looking at between $20,000 to $25,000 for a complete system.

This tax credit is in effect until 2016 so if you are considering replacing your old worn out system with a geothermal retrofit (or installing a system in new construction) with the most energy efficient geo system there is still time to take advantage of some great savings.

Why is geothermal so expensive? A significant part of the cost comes from excavating the ground loops, which can require a few thousand feet of pipe buried under the soil.

You also want pipes that last wear and tear. Remember that this piping system will go through rapid changes in temperature underneath the earth. That means they have to be sturdy. Plain plastic tubes are simply not going to do.

On top of that, you’re also looking at anti-freezing additions to the water inside your pipes to prevent them the water from hardening and clogging up the pipes.

The plus side to this stage is that it should never have to be redone, typically they are guaranteed for 50+ years.

Are there any Disadvantages?

Unlike large geothermal power plants that depend on high-pressures and steam to generate large amounts of power, a home-based heat pump doesn’t come with a lot of issues. As soon as you install it, you’re good to go.

This is because this pump system uses the constant heat underneath the earth to either provide heat to your house or absorb heat coming from it. You won’t need to worry about running out of steam one day because you don’t need it at all.

Besides the initial installation costs, the amount of saving you’ll be generating will be more than promising. That’s more than enough reason to give them a try.