One of the most unexpected things about a geothermal heating and cooling system is that it has so few moving parts. There’s just that much less that can go bad– that much less to maintain. And that alone plays a significant role in lowering the overall energy costs of Salem homeowners who’ve gone geothermal.
Of course, the system isn’t free of all moving parts. the better part of them are found in its most important component, too: the geothermal heat pump.
This is the engine that drives the system. Its job is to transfer heat. And it transfers heat either from the ground into your house or from your house into the ground, depending on the weather30. That being the case, it’s a furnace and an air conditioner combined in one unobtrusive package.
How the heat pump transfers heat is with water or an antifreeze solution. This liquid flows through loops of underground pipes to which the heat pump is secured 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 that point the heat is circulated throughout a home by way of either a forced air or a hydronic system. During cooling season the process is reversed: the pump draws heat from your home and transfers it underground via those same buried loops. Oh, and somewhere along the way, lots of geothermal systems also provide domestic hot water.
The basic distinction between a geothermal heat pump and a typical furnace is that a heat pump doesn’t burn fuel to generate heat. Instead it takes heat that’s already there and simply moves it around. That naturally makes it a much more efficient heating and cooling system. Bear this in mind, too: underground temperatures almost always stay at around 50º F through the year. And that means? A geothermal heating and cooling system uses significantly less energy to cool your home than conventional air conditioners.
So … is a geothermal system the answer for your Salem home? See this area’s geothermal gurus, the friendly gang at Mill Creek Heating.