When it comes to heating and cooling your Minnesota home, having a highly reliable, energy-efficient HVAC system is essential. If you’re ready to enjoy the benefits of the most dependable and eco-friendly heating and cooling system on the planet, it’s time to seriously consider geothermal system installation. Contact The Comfort Company to schedule your free consultation today!
What Is Geothermal?
Whether it’s a frigid winter evening or a scorching summer afternoon, you should feel confident your HVAC system will keep your home comfortable without costing you a fortune. That’s exactly what a geothermal heating and cooling system is designed to do.
Regardless of outdoor conditions, the ground 10 feet below the surface of the earth maintains a near-constant temperature year round. That subsurface temperature is warmer than the average winter temperatures in the upper Midwest area and cooler than average summer temperatures. Geothermal systems use that steady, below-ground temperature to heat and cool your home.
Does Geothermal Heating Really Work In Cold Climates?
How Does Geothermal Energy Work?
Geothermal heating and cooling systems work by transferring heat either into or out of your home. When it’s cold outside, the system pulls heat from the ground and transfers it indoors; when it’s warm outside, the system pulls heat from the air within your house and deposits it into the ground.
Here’s how the process works:
- A geothermal heat pump is installed inside your home. This pump typically replaces a traditional furnace and air conditioning system. It uses refrigeration like in a refrigerator, A/C, or freezer to extract or input heat into the liquid flowing through the underground pipes back into the earth. This results in delivering steady 110 degrees of hot air for heating in the winter, or 60 degrees of chilled dehumidified air in the summer. This system can also be used as a water heater for domestic use or for radiant floor heating.
- Underground pipe systems, called ground loops, connect to the heat pump and are buried approximately 10 feet below the surface of the ground outside your home. These ground loops continually circulate temperature-conducting fluid that collects and transfers heat either into or out of the earth.
- As the fluid moves through the ground loop, it changes temperature according to the subsurface temperature of the ground.
- In winter, the geothermal heat pump concentrates the heat from the fluid and transfers it into your home to warm the space. In summer, the heat pump collects heat from your indoor air and transfers it into the fluid-filled ground loop. As the fluid circulates, it deposits that heat into the earth.
For a more in-depth understanding, check out Everything You Need to Know about Geothermal Energy.
Find answers to Geothermal Ground Loop FAQ's.
Benefits of Geothermal Heating & Cooling Systems
Because the subsurface temperature of the earth remains relatively constant, geothermal systems are remarkably energy efficient. Since these systems take advantage of the existing temperature within the ground, they don’t create heat through combustion or use hot outdoor air to exchange heat in the middle of summer (that is why air conditioners struggle to keep up on hot days). Instead, they simply collect heat and move it to the appropriate area. Discover the full benefits of switching to geothermal.
How Much Can You Save With Geothermal?
Here’s what you’ll enjoy when you opt for geothermal heating and cooling: