The air source for Traditional Heat Pumps (air to air) heating and cooling varies greatly from summer to winter. When the outside air is cool or cold, a traditional heat pump must work harder and run more often to pull enough heat from this cool air to heat the home, making it less effective when you need it the most. The opposite is true in the summer months when the traditional heat pump is trying to dump the heat from inside the house to the outside air. The earth remains at a constant, 54 degrees just below its surface all year round. A Geothermal Heat Pump (ground to air, or air to ground) utilizes this constant air temperature, making heating and cooling as much as 80% more efficient. A gas furnace burns natural gas, or even a more costly propane fuel to provide heat for your home and are only 95-98% efficient, while geothermal systems use significantly less energy utilizing heat from the earth, achieving 400-600% efficiencies. This is achieved by incorporating ground ‘loops’ that circulate an alcohol based liquid to absorb this natural heat source from the ground in the winter months, and dump this heat source in the summer months. Both Federal and State tax incentives are available for geothermal applications.
