What is a Geothermal Heat Pump?

A geothermal heat pump functions like any conventional heat pump. The process is complicated and involves expansion valves, evaporators and condensers but the simplest explanation is that a heat pump pulls ambient heat from one location, whether inside the home or outside depending on the season, and transferring it to another location. So, in winter it’ll pull heat from outside, and move it into the home, and in summer the opposite.

What differentiates geothermal is that conventional heat pumps gather their heat, and get rid of it, through the outside air, and are called ‘air source’. Geothermal systems, in contrast, transfer heat through long loops of liquid-filled pipe buried in the ground or in a well or other body of water, and are called ‘ground source’. What’s so special and efficient about the geothermal approach is the temperature beneath the ground stays a constant 50 degrees fahrenheit. So, instead of your system working overtime to pull heat from the frosty winter air it’s pulling from a naturally regulated and reliably moderate temperature.

But what’s that mean for the homeowner? First, a geothermal heat pump can reduce heating and cooling bills by 30 to 70 percent! Second, geothermal systems don’t require a noisy outdoor fan to move air through its compressor coils, so geothermal units can be parked safely, and quietly, indoors. Third, geothermal reduces greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of planting roughly 750 trees. Finally, the Inflation Reduction ACt, passed in 2022, implements a 30% tax credit for geothermal heat pump projects constructed before January 1st, 2033.

That concludes our brief dive into what a geothermal heat pump is, and the benefits of that approach to heating and cooling.

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