While the world might be abuzz about solar power, you may be surprised to know that one of the best solutions to high energy costs lies not in the sky, but beneath your feet. Installing a geothermal system in your Dayton-area home can provide you with clean, quiet cooling and heating that can cut your energy bills by as much as 70 percent. Curious about installing a geothermal heat pump in your home, but don’t know where to begin? Here are some frequently asked questions and their answers:
- What exactly is geothermal? A geothermal system is a heat pump that exchanges heat energy between your home’s interior and the earth. It works by connecting equipment inside a home with the ground. Similar to conventional heat pumps, this system usually employs a water/anti-freeze solution carried through long loops of buried piping to capture and transfer heat between locations. During the summer, the equipment utilizes heat pump equipment to remove heat, and using the liquid solution in the loop system of buried pipes, transfer it to the earth. In the winter, it does the opposite to bring heat from beneath your feet and transfer it inside your home to create a warm environment.
- How efficient are geothermal systems? A conventional, high-efficiency gas furnace has annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) of 90-98 percent. This means for every dollar you spend buying energy, you receive 90-98 cents of heat energy in return. However, geothermal heat pumps have an intrinsically different measuring standard. They are rated by their Coefficient of Performance (COP). A geothermal heat pump operating at COP 4.0 produces 4 units of heat for every unit of energy used, which is superior to a regular air-source heat pump. This means for every dollar you spend buying energy, you receive four dollars worth of heat in return. While electric power is typically more expensive than natural gas, per BTU, there’s still a substantial boost in efficiency between a gas furnace and a geothermal heat pump. Cooling efficiency is also much higher than with a regular high-efficiency A/C or heat pump, since the ground where the heat is being deposited is much cooler than the outside air, where standard A/C systems expel the heat from your home.
- Will it work on my property? Most homes are great candidates for geothermal systems. Even if you have a small yard, it’s likely suitable for a vertical underground loop system, instead of the more common horizontal loop. In fact, in just the last two years more than 50,000 geothermal heat pumps have been installed in the Eastern U.S. Your HVAC contractor will be able to give you more precise information on how such a system will work in your neighborhood.
To learn more about installing a geothermal system in you Southwest Ohio home, contact Ace Hardware Home Services, Inc.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Dayton, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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