Quite a few people here in Las Cruces, New Mexico, have sought Sun City Plumbing & Heating to transform their homes into geothermal homes. Still suspicious of geothermal heating and cooling yourself? Understanding something of the science behind it – and the mechanics as well – would probably help.
We’ve discusseded elsewhere the merits of geothermal heating and cooling. It’s enough to say here that hardly any other manner of maintaining apleasant home environment all year long are as efficient, reliable, or ultimately budget-friendly, particularlly when you size up the energy savings.
Here’s how geothermal makes that a reality.
Thar’s Gold Heat in Them Thar Hills!
We tap the earth for precious metals. We tap the earth for oil. Now, more than ever, we’re tapping the earth for something no doubt just as valuable to most of us: the energy to heat and cool our homes that doesn’t entail oil.
You see, close beneath the earth’s crust – no more than 33,000 feet under our feet – is a layer of magma. This is a molten and semi-molten mixture, principally of silicates, in which temperatures run from 1300 degrees Fahrenheit to 2400 degrees Fahrenheit and hotter the deeper you go (not that you’d want to go there!). What this does is keep the ground immediately under the earth’s surface at a year-round temperature of between 45 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Meaning? Underground temperatures in Las Cruces (and pretty much everywhere stateside, anyway) are warmer than the ambient air above ground in Winter and cooler than the ambient air above ground in Summer.
Time to Get Pumped!
What geothermal heating and cooling systems do, then, is transfer heat from the ground to your home or heat from your home to the ground, as the season dictates. Either way, your home environment stays at an optimal temperature to keep you and your family comfy, whatever the season.
The appiance that accomplishes the transfer is a geothermal heat pump. It continuously circulates water or some mixture (commonly antifreeze) between your home and loops of piping (commonly fashioned of polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, PVC, or CPVC) placed in the ground. In Winter, the liquid is cold when it enters the ground. As it flows through the loops, it absorbs heat from the earth and is reintroduced to your home warm. In Summer, the process is reversed: warm liquid goes into the loops, where it assimilates the cooler ground temperatures before it’s returned to your home. Looking for details? You’ll find more specific information on ground loops here.
The central point is that geothermal heating and cooling systems don’t produce energy. They aren’t like central heating systems, which generate heat themselves. Instead, geothermal systems heat and cool your home by mobilizing the energy already abundantly available beneath the earth’s surface. That’s why geothermal systems don’t only run quieter but also prove considerably more dependable, need less maintenance, have significantly longer lifespans, and are more environmentally friendly than standard HVACs. That’s also why, over the long haul, you’ll save lots more more money by going geothermal.
Curious now? Get together with Sun City Plumbing & Heating, your Las Cruces geothermal heating and cooling specialist, today.