| Can I use radiant flooring to cool my home? |
| No, Radiant floor systems cannot remove humidity inside
the indoor tubing, and thus will cause condensation on the floor. |
 |
|
| Can one system provide both space heating and cooling for my home? And what about heating hot water? |
| Yes. A Ground Source Heat Pump can be a combination heating/cooling and hot water heating system. You can change from one mode to another with a simple flick on your indoor thermostat. Using a desuperheater, some GSHPs can save you up to 50% on your water-heating bill by preheating tank water. |
|
|
| How Big of an Area do I need? |
|
For a Horizontal Loop System you need 50ft x150ft (1/6an
Acre)
A Vertical Loop System can be put almost in any yard. An area of 12ft on center is the minimum we need to drill Vertical Loops
For a Loop System to be put into a Pond, the pond must be at least ½ acre in circumference 8ft-10ft in depth
For an Open Loop System a homeowner would need enough water to produce 2 gallons per minute per ton of system.
Example: A well would need to produce 8 gal/min for a 4 ton Heat pump.
|
|
|
| How does the cost of heating with a geothermal system compare to other heating modes ? |
| Geothermal systems cost less to operate than electric, electric heat pumps, oil, kerosene, natural and propane gas. |
|
|
| How much electricity do these systems use? |
| Depending on the size of your system 4-5 Kilowatts per
hour |
|
|
| How much will they reduce my heating and cooling cost? |
| Up to 70%
depending on what system they are replacing. Propane and Oil Heat customers will see the greatest amount of savings. |
|
|
| If the ground is only 48°F, How does it heat my home above that temperature? |
| After the outside
loop system bring the 48°F to the house, the loops come in contact with another,
separate loops system filled with refrigerant. This refrigerant boils at -40°F,
and goes through a small compressor (which creates pressure) and raises the temperature to 160°F . After the compressor, this 160°F then travels through a series of coils . A fan then blows across this
coil and into the duct work where heat or cool conditioned air is delivered to each room in your home. If you have radiant floor heat, the 160°F coil
comes in contact with the radiant floor loop and heats the water in indoor radiant loop through conduction. The heat is then dispersed throughout the floor of your home. For cooling in the summer, the operation is simply just
reversed. |
|
|
| What are the benefits of using geothermal energy? |
- First, it's clean. Energy can be extracted without burning a fossil fuel such as coal, gas, or oil. Geothermal fields produce only about one-sixth of the carbon dioxide that a relatively clean natural-gas-fueled power plant produces, and very little if any, of the nitrous oxide or sulfur-bearing gases. Binary plants, which are closed cycle operations, release essentially no emissions.
- Geothermal energy is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Geothermal power plants have average availabilities of 90% or higher, compared to about 75% for coal plants.
- Geothermal power is homegrown, reducing our dependence on foreign oil.
|
|
|
| Why is geothermal energy a renewable resource? |
| Because its source is the almost unlimited amount of heat generated by the Earth's core. Even in geothermal areas dependent on a reservoir of hot water, the volume taken out can be reinjected, making it a sustainable energy source. |
|
|