Quite a few people here in Manhattan, Kansas, have recruited Carlson Heating & AC, LLC to make their homes geothermal homes. Still need convincing about geothermal heating and cooling yourself? Comprehending some of the science behind it – and the mechanics as well – may help.
We’ve written elsewhere about the merits of geothermal heating and cooling. It’s enough to say here that hardly any other methods of maintaining apleasant home environment throughout the year are as efficient, dependable, or affordable, particularlly when you gauge the energy savings.
Here’s how geothermal works its magic.
Thar’s Gold Heat in Them Thar Hills!
We dig in the earth for precious metals. We dig in the earth for oil. Now, more than ever, we’re tapping the earth for a resource no doubt just as valuable to many of us: the energy to heat and cool our homes that doesn’t involve oil.
You see, just below the earth’s crust – we’re talking no more than 33,000 feet under our feet – is a mantle of magma. This is a molten and semi-molten brew, chiefly of silicates, in which temperatures range 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. Meaning? Underground temperatures in Manhattan (and pretty much everywhere 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 ideal temperature to keep you and your family happy year-round.
The device that accomplishes the transfer is a geothermal heat pump. It continuously circulates water or some solution (commonly antifreeze) between your home and loops of pipe (commonly fabricated 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 sucks up heat from the earth and is returned to your home warm. In Summer, the process is reversed: warm liquid enters the loops, where it absorbs the cooler ground temperatures before it’s returned to your home. Looking for details? You’ll find more thorough information on ground loops here.
The salient point is that geothermal heating and cooling systems don’t produce energy. They don’t work 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 considerably more dependable, need less maintenance, have much longer lifespans, and are more environmentally friendly than standard HVACs. That’s also why, over the long haul, you’ll save much more more money by going geothermal.
Curious now? See Carlson Heating & AC, LLC, your Manhattan geothermal heating and cooling authority, today.