Efficient Ground Source Heat

The ground source heat is essentially transferred to a home via pipes, which is usually buried in the garden or beneath the ground. The pipes which are buried beneath the surface takes the heat from the ground and the energy is transferred through the fluid in the pipe to a heat exchanger where it concentrates the heat energy. This heat energy is then used in homes in various applications such as heating the water, radiators and other practical uses in home heating. Since the surface is able to maintain a stable temperature, heat can be extracted throughout the year making it a very reliable energy source.

Uses

The main use of this heat energy is that is for heating water so that it can be used in home heating and in hot water distribution of taps, radiators and other various appliances that used for water heating. It should be noted that this source of energy does not create any harmful emissions and it uses a negligible portion of electricity.

How it Works

Usually the energy obtained by this process is through geothermal pumps. They use the stable temperature of the earth as the exchange medium instead of using the outside air temperature as the medium. What this does is it provides a high level of efficiency nearly around 300% to 600% on a winter night compared to 175% to 250% for air source heat pumps.

It is common in heat pumps both geothermal and water based heat pumps to heat, cool and supply the house with hot water. There are many models available in the geothermal systems such as double speed compressors and those which have a variable fan for increased comfort and energy savings. When compared to air source pumps these ground source pumps are relatively easy to maintain, quieter, last longer and it does not depend on the temperature of the outside air.

Types

In order to tap the ground source heat there are many types of geothermal heat pumps which can be categorized under four basic ground loop systems, they vertical, horizontal, pond/lake which comes under closed loop system and the other one is the open loop system. To determine which type of system will be suitable for a home will depend on various factors such as soil condition, climate and the available space for installation of the pipes.

The most widely practiced types of geothermal pump installation are the horizontal type which is used widely for residential purpose. The horizontal type is used because of its cost- effective nature and for new area under construction where sufficient area will be available. Usually the installation requires a trench which should be of minimum four feet in depth. The pipes are placed side by side or on the pipe is buried much deeper and then the other one the other pipe should be minimum buried no less than four feet. In the vertical lay out the pipes are placed vertically.

By extracting the ground source heat via these pumps one can contribute in saving the electricity and in turn conserve on energy bills. They also help in reducing fossil fuel and prevent emission of CO2 which is very good for the planet.