Heating a house takes a lot of energy, whether it’s electricity, coal, propane or natural gas. Finding a natural way to heat a home that lowers cost and doesn’t affect the environment is becoming increasingly important to everyone. Geothermal heating is one option.

We all know the power of solar energy, but you may not know that almost half of solar energy is absorbed into the Earth. This heat keeps the Earth at a temperature of 50-70 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the year. Geothermal heating takes advantage of this by bringing the heat from the Earth into your home so it takes less energy to keep your home at the temperature you want. It’s much easier to heat your home from 50 degrees up to 72 degrees in winter than it is to heat it from the 10 degrees it is outside to 72 degrees. The opposite is also true in the summer, it’s easier to cool air from 70 degrees to 65 degrees than it is to go from 95 degrees to 65 degrees.

To get the heat from the Earth up to your home, a geothermal system uses water inside a loop, the water is warmed by the Earth and then it travel up to your house where it is moderated to the temperature you want.

Types of Geothermal Systems

Horizontal Loops: In a horizontal loop system the loops are placed about 5 feet deep and go 100-300 hundred ft away from the house. Horizontal systems can usually only be placed on larger properties unless you can get permission from neighboring houses. Different types of piping can be used in a horizontal loop system, including the traditional loops, slinky loops and bore loops to fit the land better.

Vertical Loops: Vertical loop systems work where land is limited by inserting the pipes with a U-Bend into a hole that is 150-250 feet deep. Holes are bored about 10 ft away from each other and filled with grout to seal the whole and provide good contact around the pipe.

Lake or Pond Loops: One of the most cost effective geothermal systems, lake loops are coiled and sunk to the bottom of the water that is at least 8 ft deep. Because water is a better conductor of heat, less piping is needed, but it the water is too far from the house there can be additional cost associated with pumping the water all the way back to the house.

Open Loop: Open look systems take advantage of well water by pumping the water through the system and then draining it into a pond or ditch. The well water needs to be tested to make sure there are not too many contaminants that are harmful to the geothermal system.

By taking advantage of the Earth’s natural heat, a geothermal heating system can cut up to 50% of your energy bills.

Photo by Stuck In Customs

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