A good many residents here in Denver, Colorado, have recruited Denver Geothermal Heating to upgrade their homes to geothermal homes. Still leery of geothermal heating and cooling yourself? Comprehending something of the science behind it – and the mechanics as well – may help.
We’ve discusseded elsewhere the rewards of geothermal heating and cooling. It’s enough to say here that almost no other methods of maintaining a climatically comfortable home environment all year long are as efficient, trustworthy, or economical, particularlly when you factor in the energy savings.
Here’s how geothermal makes that a reality.
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 a resource probably just as valuable to a majority of us: the energy to heat and cool our homes that doesn’t call for oil.
You see, right 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, for the most part comprised 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 does is keep the ground immediately under the earth’s surface at a relatively consistent year-round temperature of between 45 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. The upshot? Underground temperatures in Denver (and essentially everywhere stateside, anyway) are warmer than the ambient air above ground in Winter and cooler than the ambient air above ground in Summer.
Time to Get Pumped!
What geothermal heating and cooling systems do, then, is transfer heat from the ground to your home or heat from your home to the ground, in accordance with the season. Either way, your home environment remains at the perfect temperature to keep you and your family comfy all year long.
The mechanism that effects the transfer is a geothermal heat pump. It continuously circulates water or some solution (usually antifreeze) between your home and loops of pipe (usually made of polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, PVC, or CPVC) placed 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 goes into the loops, where it takes in the cooler ground temperatures before it’s returned to your home. Want details? You’ll find more specific information on ground loops here.
The principal 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 using the energy already abundantly available beneath the earth’s surface. That’s why geothermal systems don’t only run quieter but also prove much more trustworthy, need less maintenance, have significantly longer lifespans, and are more environmentally friendly than standard HVACs. That’s also why, in the long run, you’ll save much more more money by going geothermal.
Curious now? Talk with Denver Geothermal Heating, your Denver geothermal heating and cooling professional, today.