How Does Geothermal Heating and Cooling Work?

Geothermal heating and cooling is an energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, and relatively inexpensive way to heat and cool your home. But for all that, not many people are familiar with how geothermal heating and cooling actually works.

If you don’t have a good knowledge of how geothermal systems work, you aren’t likely to use one in your home. However, a geothermal HVAC systems can be a very good choice. Learn how they work and if one is right for your home.

Geothermal Heating and Cooling

Geothermal heating and cooling use the fact that the earth holds a pretty steady temperature of 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit underground. That depth depends on location, as things like air temperature and frost lines will influence the temperature of the ground. A geothermal system will harness that temperature and use it to make your home more comfortable. The system does this by absorbing and transferring heat from one place to another.

Ground Loops

Geothermal systems usually are heat pumps connected to a ground loop system. Ground loop systems are made up of pipes that go into holes that have been drilled down to a specific depth. The ground loops come in two configurations, open and closed. The ground loops can also be installed vertically or horizontally, depending on how much space you have available around your house.
Closed Loop Systems
A closed loop system consists of pipes that run down into the ground and then back to the heat pump. It is a completely sealed system. The fluid in the loop is usually a mix of water and an anti-freeze. Closed loop systems are the norm when it comes to a geothermal heating and cooling system since they don’t need to have any kind of groundwater nearby to make the system work.

Open Loop Systems
An open loop system is placed into nearby groundwater and uses that groundwater to heat and cool your house. The heat pump will draw in water, take the heat out of it, and then let it leave the system. The water can be pumped back into the groundwater source or it can be released into surface drainage. This method isn’t used often because you have to have a large source of groundwater in order to use it.

Heating Process

When it comes to heating your house, the geothermal system will pump cold water down through the loop, where the temperature will rise because of the heat in the ground. When it gets to the heat pump, a heat exchanger puts the heat into supply air, and then blows it throughout your house. The return air will then eliminate any leftover heat and cool the fluid back down, which starts the process all over again.

Cooling Process

The cooling process works in much the same way, only the fluid is actually pumped through the loop in the opposite direction from the direction it flows when it heats your house. The fluid absorbs the heat from your house and gets pumped down into the ground, where it disperses the heat.
The now cool fluid gets brought up to the pump, where it goes through a heat exchanger, and the cool air gets blown through your house.

A geothermal heating and cooling system works in most places. Come see us at Bruce MacKay Pump & Well Service, Inc. to get more information about geothermal systems and how they can work for you. We are more than happy to answer any question you have and tell you how geothermal systems will work for your home. We will look at your property so that we can tell you if you should go with a vertical or horizontal ground loop and if you can use a closed or open system.