Geothermal Heat Pump-The benefits

Even in states without great geothermal resources, a geothermal heat pump can still provide space heating and air conditioning. Like a refrigerator or air conditioner, these systems use a heat pump to force the transfer of heat from the ground to the application. In theory, heat can be extracted from any source, no matter how cold, but a warmer source allows higher efficiency. A ground-source heat pump uses the shallow ground (typically at 10-12°C, 50-54°F) as a source of heat, thus taking advantage of its seasonally moderate temperatures. In contrast, an air-source heat pump draws heat from the colder outside air and thus requires more energy.



Geothermal heat pumps are similar to usual heat pumps, but use the ground instead of outside air to provide heating, air conditioning and, in most cases, hot water. Because they use the earth's natural heat, they are among the most efficient and comfortable heating and cooling technologies currently available.

The heat pump system uses solar energy stored in the earths crust. Energy is transferred to and from the earths surface by solar radiation, wind and rainfall. As a consequence of this solar energy, the earths temperature at depths greater than 10 meters remains constant, and is comparable to the annual average air temperature. Between the surface and a depth of 2.5 meters (maximum depth for a horizontal loop) the ground temperature will swing above and below the annual average air temperature , depending on the geographic location, soil type an moisture levels
Benefits
Ground Source Heat Pumps or geothermal Heat pumps offer great benefits:

• Simultaneously heat & cool different parts of the same building
• Very quiet-users do not know when the system is operating
• Can be set up in multiple zones, with each zone having an individual room control
• Greater freedoms in building design due to 50-80% less mechanical room space
• No outside equipment to hide, eliminating vandalism and roof top units
• Pipes have 50-year life expectancy
• all electric, which eliminates multiple utility services
• Expel boiler and chiller maintenance

By Narendra Kumar Singh