Quite a few residents here in Burlington, North Carolina, have sought Crabbe Service to turn their homes into geothermal homes. Still suspicious of geothermal heating and cooling yourself? Knowing something of the science behind it – and the mechanics as well – might help.
We’ve written elsewhere about the merits of geothermal heating and cooling. Suffice it to say here that almost no other means of maintaining an agreeable home environment whatever the season are as efficient, trustworthy, or ultimately budget-friendly, especially when you factor in the energy savings.
Here’s how geothermal works its magic.
Thar’s Gold Heat in Them Thar Hills!
We mine the earth for precious metals. We drill the earth for oil. Now, as never before, we’re tapping the earth for an asset no doubt just as valuable to many of us: the energy to heat and cool our homes that doesn’t necessitate oil.
You see, close beneath the earth’s crust – we’re talking no more than 33,000 feet under our feet – is a layer of magma. This is a molten and semi-molten mixture, principally of silicates, in which temperatures run 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 relatively consistent year-round temperature of between 45 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Result? Underground temperatures in Burlington (and most places stateside, in any event) 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 best possible temperature to keep you and your family in comfort month after month.
The apparatus that performs the transfer is a geothermal heat pump. It continuously circulates water or some blend (typically antifreeze) between your home and loops of piping (typically fashioned of polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, PVC, or CPVC) buried in the ground. In Winter, the liquid is cold when it enters the ground. As it travels through the loops, it absorbs heat from the earth and is reintroduced to your home warm. In Summer, the process is reversed: warm liquid enters the loops, where it takes in the cooler ground temperatures before it’s returned to your home. Need details? You’ll find more specific information on ground loops here.
The primary 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 richly available beneath the earth’s surface. That’s why geothermal systems don’t only run quieter but also prove a lot more dependable, need less maintenance, have significantly longer lifespans, and are more environmentally friendly than conventional HVACs. That’s also why, in the long run, you’ll save a great deal more more money by going geothermal.
Curious now? Get together with Crabbe Service, your Burlington geothermal heating and cooling professional, today.