Geothermal Heat Pumps: Cost Effective And Environmentally Sound
Written by Peggy Loe

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 provides high-comfort and cost-effectiveness with an environmentally friendly technology that makes use of the Earth's capacity to store energy in the form of heat. Geothermal Heating Systems move heat from the earth or water into a building, or from a building back into the earth. A small amount of electricity is used to operate pumps, fans, controls, and small 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.

Although the initial cost of a new geothermal system is generally more expensive than a traditional heating and cooling system, the extra investment is returned within five to ten years. The ground loop piping is estimated to last over fifty years, and even the internal parts have about a 25 year life span. Every year about 50,000 new geothermal heating systems are added in the United States. They're very reasonable for most areas and can use the Earth for heating when temperatures drop and as a heat sink when it's hot outside.

Many new residential systems are equipped with desuperheaters which transfer excess heat from the geothermal heat pump's compressor to the home's hot water storage tank providing very efficient water heating. However, the desuperheater will not provide hot water during the spring and fall when the geothermal heat pump system is not operating. But because the geothermal heating system is so much more efficient than other means of water heating, some manufacturers are offering 'full demand' systems that utilize a separate heat exchanger to cost-effectively provide for hot water needs.

Geothermal Heat Pumps are among the most efficient and comfortable heating and cooling technologies currently available for homes and other buildings. These Geothermal Heating Systems use the natural heat storage capacity of the earth or ground water to provide energy efficient heating and cooling.

Click here to find suppliers and installers of geothermal energy systems.