One of the great things about a geothermal heating and cooling system is that it has almost no moving parts. There’s just that much less that can go bad– that much less requiring maintenance. And that in itself plays a major role in lowering the overall energy costs of Hattiesburg homeowners who’ve gone geothermal.
Of course, the system is not without any moving parts. the majority of them are found in its most important component, too: the geothermal heat pump.
This is the engine that drives the system. Its role is to transfer heat. And it transfers heat either from the ground into your house or from your house into the ground, depending on seasonal temperatures. Consequently, it’s a furnace and an air conditioner integrated into one unobtrusive package.
What, then, does a heat pump use to transfer heat? Water! Well, that or a solution containing antifreeze. This liquid courses through loops of underground pipes to which the heat pump is connected above ground. During heating season the liquid draws heat from the ground, the heat pump draws the warm liquid up into refrigerant coils, and from there the heat is conveyed throughout a home by 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 as an extra perk, many geothermal systems also supply domestic hot water.
The fundamental differentiator between a geothermal heat pump and a typical furnace is that a heat pump doesn’t set fuel afire to generate heat. Rather, it takes heat that already exists and merely moves it around. That naturally makes it a much more efficient heating and cooling system. Keep this in mind, too: underground temperatures usually hold at around 50º F through the year. The upshot? A geothermal heating and cooling system uses significantly less energy to cool your home than typical air conditioners.
So … is a geothermal system the answer for your Hattiesburg home? Speak with this region’s geothermal specialists, the cordial gang at BC's Heating and Air.