Plenty of residents here in Fort Wayne, Indiana, have signed on with J. O. Mory Inc to upgrade their homes to geothermal homes. Still need convincing about geothermal heating and cooling yourself? Knowing a smidgen of the science behind it – and the mechanics as well – may help.
We’ve written elsewhere about the rewards of geothermal heating and cooling. It’s enough to say here that hardly any other methods of maintaining a climatically comfortable home environment year-round are as efficient, dependable, or ultimately thrifty, especially when you gauge the energy savings.
Here’s how geothermal works that magic.
Thar’s Gold Heat in Them Thar Hills!
We tap the earth for precious metals. We tap the earth for oil. Now, as never before, we’re tapping the earth for something likely just as valuable to most of us: the energy to heat and cool our homes that doesn’t involve oil.
You see, close beneath the earth’s crust – that would be, oh, say, 33,000 feet under our feet – is a layer of magma. This is a molten and semi-molten mixture, predominantly of silicates, in which temperatures vary from 1300 degrees Fahrenheit to 2400 degrees Fahrenheit and hotter the deeper you go (not that you’d want to go there!). What this serves to do is keep the ground immediately under the earth’s surface at a year-round temperature of between 45 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Result? Underground temperatures in Fort Wayne (and most places stateside, as it were) are warmer than the ambient air above ground in Winter and cooler than the ambient air above ground in Summer.
Time to Get Pumped!
This, then, is what geothermal heating and cooling systems do: they transfer heat from the ground to your home or heat from your home to the ground, as the season dictates. Either way, your home stays at the optimum temperature to keep you and your family in comfort, whatever the season.
The appiance that executes the transfer is a geothermal heat pump. It continuously circulates water or some mixture (usually antifreeze) between your home and loops of pipe (usually made of polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, PVC, or CPVC) placed in the ground. In Winter, the liquid is cold when it enters the ground. As it flows through the loops, it takes in heat from the earth and is reintroduced to your home warm. In Summer, the process is reversed: warm liquid enters the loops, where it’s cooled by the cooler ground temperatures before it’s returned to your home. Want details? You’ll find more thorough information on ground loops here.
The central point is that geothermal heating and cooling systems don’t produce energy. They’re not like central heating systems, which generate heat themselves. Instead, geothermal systems heat and cool your home by putting to use the energy already amply available beneath the earth’s surface. That’s why geothermal systems don’t only run quieter but also prove much more reliable, need less maintenance, have much longer lifespans, and are more environmentally friendly than standard HVACs. That’s also why, over time, you’ll save considerably more more money by going geothermal.
Curious now? Get hold of J. O. Mory Inc, your Fort Wayne geothermal heating and cooling specialist, today.