Are Geothermal Heat Pumps Viable?

Geothermal Heat pumps are somewhat new to many house holders in this country. A Geothermal Heat Pump makes use of the Earth's stored heat to provide your home heating needs. Unlike the familiar Air Source "Air to Air" heat pump the Geothermal Heat Pump is a Water Source "Water to Air" or "Water to Water" device.

What are the benefits for you?

If you are looking for the following benefits you are looking at the right system.

• Lower Operating costs –

A geothermal system reduces your energy bills by as much as 30 to 50% in comparison to that for conventional heating and cooling systems.

• Environmentally Friendly –

A geothermal system uses renewable and Green House Gas free ground source Heat.

• Lower Maintenance costs -

All equipment and material used are either indoors or buried and therefore protected .

• Long Life Span -

The general life span is about 30 years or more. The ground loops are guaranteed for at least 50 years in most cases.

• Single System for Cooling and Heating –

The source of energy for both Cooling and Heating is the same. (ie.one system)

• Better Indoor Comforts –

The Geothermal system does away with the uncomfortable air drafts commonly associated with traditional "Forced Air" Installations.

• Provides flexibility in design –

Geothermal Systems provide you better flexibility in designs whether it's a new or retrofit project. The system provides economical avenues for subdividing or expanding it to suit the building retrofits or extensions.

• High Efficiency –

The highly efficient Heat Pumps provide over 3 times the energy that is spent to operate the geothermal system.

• Low Safety Risk -

There is absolutely no risk of Carbon Monoxide poisoning or Fuel gas leaks. No fire risk either.

The Disadvantages

The major disadvantage is the relatively high cost of the equipment and material. The erection costs are too equally high if the ground heat source is not available at surface level. As a major portion of the plumbing system runs underground and therefore unintentional damages are possible over the years which may not be readily observable. The ground source water may contain high sulfur and other chemical content which may require preliminary treatment.

The ground area required too is higher than some of the other systems.

Residential Application

A residential Geothermal Heat pump system is about 300% efficient as mentioned above. In comparison a conventional high efficiency natural gas operated furnace or boiler has an efficiency of 92% or so. The operational savings of the Geothermal System is about 30% of a conventional Natural Gas Heating system and about 50 % of that cost of an electrical resistance heating system.

The installation cost for a typical small house is about the same as for any conventional system when the ground loop cost is omitted. This however will depend on the type of loop selected. It is well worth to consider a Geothermal Heat Pump for your buildings next retrofit and extension.