Geothermal FAQs

We have geothermal systems that make hot water. But they are best matched with low temperature heating like radiant floors. The reason geothermal is usually not a good fit for homes with existing hot water radiators is because those radiators were designed to operate with water temperatures of 180 or 190 degrees. Geothermal Hydronic systems have a maximum temperature of 140 degrees. To heat a room or home that had radiators designed for 180 degree water would require adding many more radiators to provide comfort at the lower water temperatures. In most cases adding the additional radiators is not practical.

In evaluating the viability of switching to geothermal power, you will have to take many different factors into consideration. For instance, you will need to have enough space around your house for the installation to be carried out. You will also need to know how much you currently spend on home cooling and heating costs so that you can get a good sense of how much you stand to save by switching to geothermal.
You can certainly figure out a lot of this on your own, but it can also be helpful to talk to an experienced professional as you try and work through your options. They will likely be able to point out benefits and drawbacks of a geothermal system that you may not have thought of otherwise and can they help you put together a realistic picture of how much you will stand to save by switching to this type of system.

A geothermal heat pump is able to warm your house in the winter by extracting heat from the ground and transferring that heat into your house. In order for this to happen, however, a loop of pipe needs to be installed under the ground around your home. A mixture of water and antifreeze is circulated through this loop of pipe and as it passes through the area surrounded by soil, the liquid absorbs heat.
Once it returns to your house, the heat in the liquid is released and used to heat the air, which can then be circulated throughout your house by a blower and air handler. After it has released its heat, the liquid then cycles back down into the underground portion of pipe loop and begins the process all over again.
In the summer, this cycle can actually be reversed so that the heat is absorbed from inside your house and transferred to the ground just outside. The simple fact that the ground is always cooler than the air in summer and warmer than the air in winter makes all of this possible.

There are many variables in calculating energy savings with a geothermal heat pump. The savings over systems with fuel oil or LP gas can be as much as 70%. The savings versus an air-source heat pump can be as much as 50%. The savings over natural gas systems with central air conditioning vary from 20 to 50%, depending on the efficiency of the existing systems. Learn more about how much you can save here

Probably the most common installations for new construction are horizontal ones. To complete this type of installation, a trench is dug in your property near your house. This trench is usually about 5 feet deep and 100-400 feet long. The number of trenches required depends on your household heating and cooling load. This type of installation usually provides the lowest installed cost for the loop. It is prevalent in new construction because there is no mature lawn and landscaping to disturb.
For retrofit installations – ones where we are replacing an existing system with a geothermal system – the most popular choice is the vertical loop system. A vertical installation of the ground loop consists of several bore holes into which the plastic pipe is installed. These bore holes are usually about 175 feet deep. This type of installation is popular because disturbing of the yard and subsequent repair is minimized, in spite of the added cost.