Geothermal Heating

Generally, the term "GeoExchange" applies to technologies that use the heat of the Earth to warm water up to a constant temperature. This term is synonymous with Geothermal Heat Pumps. The idea is to use the constant temperature that is maintained by the sheer mass of the Earth to bring a building up to that temperature in the winter and down to that temperature in the summer.

GeoExchange is also a term used to describe the efforts of the Geothermal Heat Pump Consortium, a non-profit organization of concerned scientists and industry professionals that exists to further the knowledge and cause of geothermal heat pumps and GeoExchange systems.

It is said that if every school in the United States began using heat exchangers tomorrow, the country would save roughly the amount of fossil fuels that are used in the entire transportation sector. As such, schools are a hotbed of heat pump activity.

Homeowners find they save quite a bit of energy, too. The average savings for homeowners and small businesses falls between 25-70%. Of course, the amount of energy saved depends upon how cold it is outside. The greater the differential between the Earth and ambient air temperatures, the greater your energy savings will be.

Interestingly, the temperature of the Earth varies a bit. In far northern climates it is as low as 45F (8C), which is, of course, far higher than the average January temperature of 10F that one finds in much of the upper Midwest. Since buildings in these climates are radiating heat even when well insulated, they "respond" to wind chill, often loosing heat precipitously fast when cold winds are aloft.

In the southern United States, ambient temperatures (again, the same all year long) are quite a bit higher, up to 70F (21C) in some places. It is possible to bring a home up to room temperature in those climates without supplemental heating. Conversely, cooling is usually a major issue in such a climate. If designed properly, a single heat exchange pump can handle the cooling needs for even rather large structures on several floors with some care.

Other advantage of heat exchange units include their relatively low cost of maintenance and the massive potential energy savings they represent as a passive (and native) technology. The promise of a Geo Exchange system in every home is tantalizing enough to some folks at the US Department of Energy that the idea has received some of their support, too. Regardless, the amazing potential of what just a few pipe and a little water can do boggles the mind.

Geothermal Heating |