Geothermal Heating And Cooling

Geothermal exchange is the Green (with capital G) way of heating and cooling your home. Such systems use the earth's high underground temperature to keep houses comfortable. We are living in times of high utility bills and a country that's largely dependant on foreign oil. Global warming is an even serious concern so we must search for better and more environmentally efficient ways of heating and cooling our cribs. Geothermal energy is the answer to this search as it combines all those characteristics - almost zero emission and low bills.

The great thing about geothermal exchange is that you don't have to go anywhere to find it, it's beneath your feet. Fact is that the surface of our planet absorbs nearly 50% of the sun's energy that reaches it and stores it in the form of heat. And with a geothermal exchanger you can make use of this energy without polluting the environment. Air temperature varies depending on the season, climate and weather, but the underground temperature remains constant throughout the entire year. Of course, here we are talking about going several hundred feet deep. Experts said that just 200 feet down, the Earth's temperature stays about 55 degrees year around and that is what you pull into your home. The initial cost of geothermal heat exchange is high, but it's well worth it because of all the saves you will get in the long run as energy bills will be 50 to 70 percent less.

Direct-exchange geothermal heating and cooling systems have been around for more than a decade. Of course, there are certain things that influence the efficiency of the whole system. First of all, soil type is very important. It's all about the heat transfer here so if the soil's density is too high, it will deteriorate the efficiency. Air and moisture content as well as soil composition also play a major part. The worst type of soils are the dry ones, like dry sand. The heat transfer rate is highest when there is a minimum amount of air and the greatest amount of compaction of soil molecules around the ground loop.

But if the soil under your home is not perfect, that doesn't mean you should give up. To solve that problem, some owners actually go about bringing soil from a different location. Of course, this will seriously increase the costs. Another workaround is surrounding the loop with a dense fill material.

Geothermal exchange systems are ideal for every location and every type of building. Commercial and residential properties can make a full use out of it.

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