Geothermal cooling and heating systems are a high-efficiency option worth considering for your Fort Wayne area home. Geothermal heat pumps provide numerous benefits, when compared to conventional furnace/air-conditioning systems, including low energy consumption. According to estimates released by the U.S. Department of Energy, a geothermal heating and cooling system can save you as much as 70 percent on your heating bills and 50 percent on cooling costs.
Like all heat pumps, geothermal units operate on the principle of heat transfer. The primary difference between air-source and ground-source (geothermal) heat pumps is where that heat is transferred from when heating and where it's transferred to when cooling.
In geothermal cooling, heat is absorbed from your home's interior air by a set of copper coils filled with cold refrigerant. The refrigerant, now warmed, is sent outside to a compressor that heats it even more, turning it into a 160°F vapor. An outdoor heat exchanger then transfers this heat to a water/anti-freeze solution flowing through a series of pipes, called a ground loop. This loop, typically made from high-density polyethylene, is buried in the ground beneath the frost line. The ground, which normally maintains a fairly stable temperature of about 50°F, readily absorbs the heat carried in these pipes.
The refrigerant, returned back into a cold liquid after releasing its heat to the outside heat exchanger, is rerouted back to the indoor heat exchanger coils where it repeats the heat absorption process. An indoor blower fan moves the hot, humid air from inside your living space across these cold coils, producing the desired cooling effect. Your home is also dehumidified as condensation forms on the cold coils and is collected and drained away.
Some of the many benefits of geothermal heat pumps include:
- Provides clean, evenly-distributed conditioned air
- No CO2 emissions and no other negative environmental impact
- Can heat or cool/dehumidify
- Effective, efficient and economical
- 30-percent federal tax credit
Hartman Brothers Heating & Air Conditioning has been providing expert HVAC services to residents of Fort Wayne and surrounding areas since 1963. Please contact us for information or advice regarding geothermal cooling and heating or any other HVAC-related topics.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in New Haven, Indiana and surrounding Fort Wayne area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about geothermal cooling and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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