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How Does a Geothermal Heat Pump Work |
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Using a geothermal heat pump, water or an antifreeze solution is pumped and circulated below
the Earth's surface. In the summer, this system pulls the heat from the building - cooling the
home - and disperses it down below, using the Earth as a heat sink. In the winter, it carries
heat and pumps it into the home, using the Earth as a heat source.
This is a "closed loop" system: no refills, no fuel - the system just works! With a geothermal heat
pump, there are no on-site carbon emissions, cutting energy consumption by up to 80%! How?
For every one unit of electricity used, the geothermal heat pump puts out five units of heat to the
space - that's a 500% efficiency rating without burning one ounce of fuel! Our factory-sealed
refrigeration system needs no recharging, saving ozone layer damage. And our underground
piping system is closed, meaning no external venting and no air pollution.
There are four major types of closed loop systems available: horizontal, slinky, vertical, and
pond.
With enough space available, the horizontal loop (above left) is the most cost-efficient
installation. Parallel pipe is installed 4-6 feet into the ground, and will typically be 400-600 feet
per ton of heating and cooling. If more pipe is needed and space is limited, piping can be coiled
into a slinky shape (above right).
For smaller spaces, or where you want to avoid affecting the landscape around your home, a
vertical loop (above left) is used. Vertical holes are drilled into the ground from 150-450 feet
deep, and one loop is installed. The deeper you drill into the ground, the more stable the
temperature is, so typically, not as much pipe is needed. If you are near a small body of water, a
pond loop (above right) can be used. This type of loop works just like the other systems, but the
heat transfer is to the water instead of the earth.
How effective is this? Currently-installed geothermal heat pump systems are eliminating more
than three million tons of carbon dioxide - that is the equivalent of taking 650,000 automobiles
off the road! Be a part of this renewable-energy movement. Stop your carbon emissions and start
living green by contacting Earthtemp Geothermal today!
For more information on geothermal heat pumps and how they work, visit http://www.geoexchange.org. |
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