Since the mid-1970's, tens of thousands of homes and businesses in Canada, Europe and the U.S. have been heated and cooled by a system that bridges the gap between high technology and energy savings-the Geothermal Heat Pump. Consumers are searching for a better way to get more out of their energy dollar. Many have found the answer to be the geothermal heat pump.
The buried pipe or ground loop, is the most recent technical advancement in heat pump technology. The idea to bury pipe in the ground to gather heat energy began in the 1940's, but it's only been in the last few years that new heat pump designs and improved pipe materials have been combined to make geothermal heat pumps the most efficient heating and cooling systems available.
l
How does it work?
Like any type of heat pump, it simply moves heat energy from one place to another, using the same scientific principle as your refrigerator. By using the refrigeration process, geothermal heat pumps remove heat energy stored in the earth or groundwater and transfer it to your home.
How is heat transferred between the earth and the home
The earth has the ability to absorb and store heat energy. To use that stored energy, heat is extracted from the earth through a liquid medium (groundwater or an antifreeze solution) and is pumped to the heat pump or exchanger, and the heat is used to heat your home. In the summer the process is reversed and the indoor heat is extracted from your home and transferred to the ground through the liquid.
The term "closed loop" is used to describe a geothermal heat pump system that uses a continuous loop of buried plastic pipe as a heat exchanger. The pipe is connected to the indoor heat pump to form a sealed, underground loop through which an antifreeze solution is circulated in a pressurized pipe.
An "open-loop" system is used to describe a geothermal heat pump system that uses groundwater from a well as a heat source. The groundwater, which has a relatively constant year round temperature, is pumped into the heat pump unit where heat is extracted and then the water is disposed of in an appropriate manner.