What pretty much all homeowners say they love most about a geothermal heating and cooling system is that it has so little in the way of moving parts. There’s just that much less that can go bad– that much less to maintain. And that alone plays a significant role in lowering the overall energy costs of Fort Wayne homeowners who’ve gone geothermal.
That said, the system does have some moving parts. the bulk of them are found in its most conspicuous component, too: the geothermal heat pump.
This is the engine that drives the system. Its purpose is to transfer heat. And it transfers heat either from the ground into your house or from your house into the ground, depending on ambient temperatures. In Consequence, it’s a furnace and an air conditioner combined in one discreet package.
The medium by which a heat pump transfers heat is either water or an antifreeze solution. This liquid circulates through loops of underground pipes to which the heat pump is secured above ground. During heating season the liquid draws heat from the ground, the heat pump draws the warm liquid up into refrigerant coils, and the heat is then is distributed throughout a home by means of either a forced air or a hydronic system. During cooling season the exact opposite happens: the pump draws heat from your home and transfers it underground by way of those same buried loops. Oh, and somewhere along the way, various geothermal systems also provide domestic hot water.
The basic differentiator between a geothermal heat pump and a common furnace is that a heat pump doesn’t ignite fuel to generate heat. Rather, it takes heat that already exists and just moves it around. That naturally makes it a much more efficient heating and cooling system. Recognize this, too: underground temperatures most often hold at around 50º F year round. The upshot? A geothermal heating and cooling system requires significantly less energy to cool your home than typical air conditioners.
So … is a geothermal system best for your Fort Wayne home? See this region’s geothermal specialists, the friendly folks at J. O. Mory Inc.