The Basic How and Why of a Geothermal Heat Pump

One of the most unexpected things about a geothermal heating and cooling system is that it has so little in the way of moving parts. There’s just that much less that can go haywire– that much less requiring maintenance. And that in and of itself goes far in cutting the overall energy costs of Hattiesburg homeowners who’ve gone geothermal.

 

That said, the system is not without any moving parts. Most of them are found in its most important component, too: the geothermal heat pump.

This is the engine that drives the system. Its role is to transfer heat. And it transfers heat either from the ground into your house or from your house into the ground, depending on ambient temperatures. In Consequence, it’s a furnace and an air conditioner combined in one compact package.

The medium a heat pump uses to transfer heat is either water or an antifreeze solution. This liquid flows through pipe loops planted underground and linked to the heat pump, which is positioned above ground. During heating season the liquid draws heat from the ground, the heat pump draws the warm liquid up into refrigerant coils, and from there the heat is dispensed throughout a home by either a forced air or a hydronic system. During cooling season it runs in reverse: the pump draws heat from your home and transfers it to the earth through those same buried loops. Oh, and somewhere along the way, various geothermal systems also provide domestic hot water.

The crucial difference between a geothermal heat pump and a more familiar furnace is that a heat pump doesn’t set fuel burning to generate heat. Instead it takes heat that already exists and just moves it around. That naturally makes it a much more efficient heating and cooling system. Keep this in mind, too: underground temperatures usually stay at around 50º F through the year. And that means? A geothermal heating and cooling system requires significantly less energy to cool your home than regular air conditioners.

So … is a geothermal system what’s needed for your Hattiesburg home? See this area’s geothermal experts, the cordial people at American Air Specialists.