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Geothermal System
If you look up geothermal on the internet, you’ll find two drastically different meanings. One deals with underground pockets of super hot water or magma which have been heated by the earth’s core. Think Reykjavik Iceland.
They run much of their municipal heating system on that kind of Geothermal system. Excellent idea - gigantic systems. For our purposes however, we would be interested in something ever so slightly smaller. Like house or business size. For this application, geothermal has an entirely different meaning and it starts with this lovely little concept…
Where do you live? Let’s say I live in New York. Dig down into the earth near my home and the temperature is probably about 55F (12.8C.) And let’s say my friend lives in Georgia. Dig down into the earth there, and the temperature is… about 55F. Hmmmm, that’s enough to give someone great ideas! Like, if the temperature is constant, why not use it? If its way colder than that in the house, extract some heat! If it is way hotter, then grab some of that cool.
Someone did think of this… some time ago in fact. Geothermal Systems have been in use for decades by those who are truly “in the know”. Here’s how it works – very simply:
A series of “loops” are put into the ground – down where the temperature is constant. These loops or tubes are used to exchange heat with the ground. During cold times, heat from the earth is extracted and intensified and pumped into the building. On hot days, the process is reversed and
the cool from the earth is pumped into the building. In other words, the system takes care of heating and cooling. Truly fabulous darling!
Loops come in different styles. Horizontal Geothermal System means the loop is a few feet below ground and spread out horizontally. Got a big huge yard and haven’t built yet? Or a big yard you feel like digging up? Horizontal would be great.
A “vertical” loop would be good if you did not have a big lawn begging to be dug up. It goes straight down into the ground – way down into the ground. Got a cousin in the well digging business? – call him up, we’re going vertical!
Vertical Geothermal System for Homes
The “slinky” style is so named because part of it looks like… a slinky. In this style, a trench is dug, and the tube which is laid in that trench is shaped like a slinky with many coils. The increased surface area of the tube makes up for the fact that perhaps your lawn is not large enough for a horizontal system, or you’d rather not dig it up (truthfully, installation of any kind of geothermal system means some degree of lawn dishevelment.) Geothermal is wonderfully efficient, but does require electricity to run the pump and the compressor. And here’s something we have not mentioned yet. Other that what is needed to make the electricity to run the pumps, there is no combustion involved in the process of geothermal. Stoves are efficient and clean, but not as clean as this!
All these great attributes! We sound like a parent bragging about their brilliant child.
Alas, there is a downside, and that is high upfront costs - as in installation costs. However, let’s say you are building new in a climate where you will need both heating and cooling. You’d have to install some sort of heating system and then a separate air conditioning system. When you calculate the cost of both, it is usually comparable to one geothermal system.
As you can see, there is no need to limit your thinking to electricity, gas or oil when contemplating heating and cooling your home. Some day, these other ideas will be commonplace. Why not be a pioneer?
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