If you'd like one of the most efficient ways of heating and cooling your Indiana home, you can't do any better than a geothermal heat pump. These tap into the stable underground temperatures to deliver heated and cooled air. Temperatures above ground fluctuate a great deal, but below the surface of the soil, the temperatures are relatively stable. A heat pump doesn't use any fuel except for electricity and just exchanges or captures heat.
In the summer, the geothermal heat pump takes heat from your home and deposit it underground. The cycle reverses in the winter and the appliance harvests warmth from the ground. Geothermal heat pumps have more than twice the efficiency of an air-source heat pump, and while geothermal systems are more expensive than other HVAC alternatives, their low operating costs provide a payback within a reasonable time frame. The U.S. Department of Energy states that geothermal heating and cooling can save between 30 and 60 percent on the cost of conditioning your home annually.
Geothermal systems last for decades. It's not unusual for the underground coils to last more than 50 years and the above-ground components for 25 years. Geothermal heat pumps do not have the outdoor compressors, making your yard quieter and reducing the maintenance associated with air-source heat pumps. With annual maintenance, most other kinds of heating and cooling systems last 15 years more or less.
The coils for a geothermal heat pump are buried underground. Made from high density polyethylene, these parts have no exposure to sunshine. The early geothermal systems required a large yard for installation, but recent advances with vertical placement allow these systems to work with smaller properties.
Anyone who installs a qualifying geothermal system can take advantage of a federal tax credit equal to 30 percent of the total cost of the appliance and its installation through the end of 2016. There is no cap on the cost of the system.
If you would like to learn more about geothermal heating and cooling, contact Hartman Brothers Heating & Air Conditioning. We've provided HVAC services for the Fort Wayne area since 1963 and would be pleased to give you more information.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about geothermal heat pumps and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Hartman Brothers services New Haven, IN and the surrounding Fort Wayne area. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!
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