Geothermal Heating and Cooling | Ground Source Heat Pump
Utilizing the benefits of geothermal heating and cooling systems also known as ground source heat pumps are awesome, but not that widespread. There are fewer things more exciting to us here in the sustainable community as saving energy or other natural resources without sacrificing quality of life. Okay, some don’t even mind sacrificing quite a bit in the name of a more positive relationship with the environment. But, it is our opinion that in order for us to get to a place in the local and then global world where sustainability is the norm and not the fringe, is to make the things we discuss here on our site accessible. By accessible, we mean, if you have to walk ½ mile to pump your water from a well and carry it to your home cistern or storage device, we are not going to get many people on board.
On the other hand, talk about saving money and all of a sudden more ears start to perk up. If the money that can be saved is something that people are willing and (easily) able to do, then it is more likely to happen. Unfortunately, we are just more motivated by our back pockets than an environmental consciousness at this point. It is not only here in the U.S. that we face this dilemma either. In developing countries where resources have been sparse for years, growth gives them the glimpse of a greater freedom. If this comes at a cost in terms of energy production or environmental impact, the environment is sure to suffer at the expense of upward mobility in living standards.
It’s hard to lay blame. We have enjoyed our own run with the fossil fuels and other petroleum-based world views for quite some time. Now, we see that there are better ways to use and manage our natural resources. One such place we can turn as homeowners to make a difference is in the way that we heat and cool our homes. We’ve talked about how solar energy and wind power can both be used as ways of decreasing our dependence on fossil fuels as our only sources of energy, now we are going to turn our attention inwards – into the Earth.
How Does Geothermal Heating and Cooling Work?
To answer this, we’ll need to do a quick review of science. Briefly, the way these systems work is by exchanging the heat of the water inside the tubes that are dug into the ground, from 50-250 feet deep. The stable temperature of the Earth is what gives us the ability to do this. At this depth, the temperature stays at 55 degrees Fahrenheit. This means that, when you want to warm the air in your home, you would exchange the cold air with this ‘warmth’ from the Earth. And, if you want to cool your home, you would use the tubes of water to reach down and cool the warmer air with this ‘cold’ temperature from the Earth’s ‘crust’.
For a detailed description of this method, you can visit GeoExchange or Reddawn. Basically, what we wish to emphasize here is the very fact that it is possible to heat and cool your home using only the Earth as the source. Geothermal systems for use in residential applications can save you anywhere from $750-2,000 per year over traditional heating and cooling units. This can help recover your initial higher costs of purchasing a geothermal unit to between 3 and 5 years in most cases. There are only maintenance issues and the small amount of electricity that is required to run the unit itself. However, you can also capture some of the superheated water not used to heat your air for hot water, so there is an additional savings there. There are some larger applications of this geothermal energy systems in commercial settings as well. Universities and large corporations in suitable locations, could benefit with huge savings in terms of yearly costs for energy production. This could mean greater bottom lines, as well as good public relations.
It is only a matter of time before we start to see these types of alternative energy systems being used more and more in the mainstream. It has been estimated that only about 1% of U.S. households employ this technology. We are experiencing what some call an artificially low cost of energy because of how we subsidize and incentivize many aspects of the industry. When such subsidies are lifted or naturally disappear because of market forces, only then will we truly appreciate the true cost of energy. There have been attempts by the government to give tax incentives to purchase these types of alternative energy units which has led some to find the financial means to be able to afford them.
In fact, if we wait that long, then we will once again be forced to choose something like geothermal energy based on financial reasons alone. If more commercial applications could be viewed as successful and widespread, more companies would be willing to invest and the costs would come down and trickle into the residential market as well. With more and more individual homes willing and able to participate in obtaining the benefits of geothermal heating and cooling, we would be that much closer to our goal of a sustainable world.