Cool Your Louisville Home with a Geothermal Heat Pump
As the temperature begins to rise in Louisville this summer, cooling your home with a conventional air conditioner will get increasingly expensive as you use your system more. A newer geothermal heat pump will keep your home just as comfortable at a fraction of the cost. Here are four reasons these systems are popular:
The Ground Has a Consistent Temperature
Geothermal works because our planet is a uniform, constant temperature just a few feet below the surface. The surface itself might swing 50 degrees or more over the course of a single day. If we dig down just 15 or 20 feet, the temperature evens out to a very reliable 55 to 70 degrees, which changes perhaps 1 to 2 degrees per month.
Lower Operating Costs
Although they are called geothermal heat pumps, they can heat and cool your house. Like conventional air-source heat pumps, geothermal systems use a liquid refrigerant to transfer heat. However, that is where the similarities end. Geothermal systems circulate a mixture of water and antifreeze through a series of underground pipes. When you need to heat your house, the refrigerant absorbs heat from the ground. When you need to cool your house, the refrigerant conducts heat into the ground away from your home.
Geothermal heat pump systems use a fraction of the energy that air-source heat pumps require for a number of reasons:
- Your equipment is protected from the elements.
- Underground temperatures are usually within 10 degrees of human comfort.
- These systems can also provide hot water.
Improved Comfort
Geothermal heat pumps have dehumidification and air purification features, which can improve your comfort. Because geothermal heating and cooling systems purify the air, you won’t have to worry too much about your indoor air quality being negatively impacted. In addition, these systems are safe to operate. Instead of using fossil fuels, they use renewable energy from the earth.
Indirect Cost Savings
That very same thermal energy can be captured to provide hot water inside your home, which can further reduce your utility bills. Additionally, geothermal systems typically last two to three times as long as air-source heat pumps and air conditioners, so even though they cost a bit more initially, they cost far less in the long run.
Interested in tapping into the ground’s limitless potential to stay comfortable? Browse One Choice Mechanical’s complete list of heating, cooling, and geothermal heat pump services, or call one of our specialists.
Originally published in June 2018, updated in May 2020
