Geothermal
When you’re examining your options for heating and cooling your Tacoma, WA area home, you may overlook geothermal systems. However, you could be missing out on a huge opportunity if you don’t stop and take a closer look at this great technology. Geothermal energy may not be the right choice for everyone, but it can work well for a lot of homes and it’s certainly worth finding out if yours is one of them.
Geothermal Heating
You probably already know that the term geothermal is referring to heat from the earth. But how can you use this to heat your home when it’s already cold outside? Well, there’s actually a substantial amount of heat present in the ground below and around your home at all times. The ground absorbs and stores a great deal of the sun’s energy and it becomes trapped there as heat.
So basically you’re sitting on top of a huge heat source and you didn’t even know it. The trick, then, is to access the heat source to heat your home. A geothermal heating system allows you to do just that by cycling liquid through a system of pipes installed in the ground below your home. This liquid absorbs the heat from the ground and then returns to the geothermal heating system in your home which is able to extract that newly absorbed heat and distribute it throughout your home.
Geothermal Air Conditioning
But this basic principle doesn’t only work in the winter. You can actually cool your home in the summer using the same geothermal system to move heat in the opposite direction. In order to cool your home, the refrigerant used in the geothermal heat pump will extract the heat from your indoor air and then transfer it to the ground during its cycle through your underground pipes. This works because, just like the ground is warmer than the air during the winter, it’s also cooler than the air during the summer.
Geothermal Systems Use Less Energy
A geothermal heat pump does use some electricity, but this is mainly to facilitate the movement of heated or cooled air throughout your home. Since the geothermal heat pump isn’t using energy you pay for to actually heat or cool the air, it generates much, much lower energy bills than just about any other type of home heating system. After all, you’re tapping into a completely free energy source underground to actually provide the heat energy for your system.
When compared to traditional heat pumps which extract heat from the outdoor air and then use it to heat your home, geothermal heat pumps do much better, particularly in cooler climates. After all, there is always some heat in the air just as there’s always some in the ground, but there is always more in the ground than in the air. And that means that during those really frigid months, your geothermal heat pump will not have to work nearly as hard as a conventional one would to heat your home efficiently.
Geothermal Hot Water Heating
It’s worth noting that geothermal heat pumps can provide you with hot water as well. While the initial installation price of these systems is generally greater than conventional ones, remember that there is virtually no cost to run the system once it’s in place.
So if you’re ready to nearly eliminate your heating and hot water bills today, give Emerald Aire a call today. Our King and Pierce County, Washington area geothermal heating specialists will gladly answer all of your questions and help you understand how geothermal heating can be made to work for you.