One of the most appreciated things about a geothermal heating and cooling system is that it has so few moving parts. There’s just that much less that can break down– that much less to need maintenance. And that alone makes a big difference in reducing the overall energy costs of Alaska homeowners who’ve gone geothermal.
Still, the system isn’t free of all moving parts. Most of them are found in its most important component, too: the geothermal heat pump.
This is the system’s engine. Its purpose is to transfer heat. And it transfers heat either from the ground into your house or from your house into the ground, depending on the climate30. Thus, it’s a furnace and an air conditioner rolled into one compact package.
What, then, does a heat pump use to transfer heat? Water! Well, that or a solution incorporating antifreeze. This liquid circulates through loops of underground pipes to which the heat pump is attached above ground. During heating season the liquid draws heat from the ground, the heat pump draws the warm liquid up into refrigerant coils, and the heat is then is dispensed throughout a home by way of either a forced air or a hydronic system. During cooling season it runs the other way ’round: the pump draws heat from your home and transfers it underground through those same buried loops. Oh, and somewhere along the way, various geothermal systems also supply domestic hot water.
The critical differentiator between a geothermal heat pump and a standard furnace is that a heat pump doesn’t burn fuel to generate heat. Instead it takes heat that already exists and simply moves it around. That naturally makes it a much more efficient heating and cooling system. Bear this in mind, too: underground temperatures most often hold at around 50º F through the year. The upshot? A geothermal heating and cooling system requires considerably less energy to cool your home than standard air conditioners.
So … is a geothermal system the answer for your Alaska home? Turn to this area’s geothermal specialists, the friendly people at Energy Efficiency Associates.