Protect your yard during geothermal heating system installation

Unlike other heating systems which are contained in and around the exterior of your home or building, geothermal heating systems go a little bit farther; into the ground. This means that there will be some digging involved, which is necessary to lay the underground earth loop which works with the ground source heat pump to provide geothermal energy for heating and cooling your space. Some homeowners may have concerns about damage to their yards during a geothermal heating system installation. To put your mind at ease, read the information below to learn just how installation will affect your yard.

Plain and simple, your yard will be affected in some ways. Heavy machinery is used in the drilling process, which can leave tire tracks. Nature plays a large role in determining if your yard will sustain damage, and to what extent. Water and runoff can create muddy conditions which make for messier drilling and digging, creating deeper tire tracks. When the ground is dry, your yard is less likely to be affected by the heavy equipment moving atop it.

While there will be some negative effects to your yard no matter what, Smith Sustainable Design can help keep damage at a minimum. Our experts have a great deal of experience installing geothermal heating systems in all conditions, and can assess the condition of your soil, and consider the design of your geothermal heating system to keep yard damage under wraps.

While nature can be uncontrollable, the design and location of your geothermal heating system is something we can control. The design and location of your earth loop will give you an idea of how your yard will be affected. Horizontal loop designs often result in more damage to the yard’s surface because of how the system needs to be laid out. Regardless of the design of your system, digging is still required to lay all earth loops.

When considering geothermal heating systems, we encourage our customers to look at the end results. The effects to your yard are only temporary, while your geothermal heating system will last long after the grass has grown back. At Smith Sustainable Design, we take great care to minimalize the effects to your yard, and can work with you to avoid the important areas which you want to protect. Your geothermal heating system will provide many years of efficient and environmentally friendly heating and cooling for your home, hopefully making up for any landscaping issues caused by installation.

Is A Geothermal Heating System Right For Me?

There are many types of equipment and systems available to provide heat for your home. Geothermal heating systems are just one of the options available for your home heating needs. A geothermal heating system utilizes heat stored within the earth to warm your home. So, how do you if a geothermal heat system is right for your home?

New construction or existing residence?

Geothermal heating systems use thermal energy from within the earth for use inside your home. In order to access warm spots underground, geothermal wells must be drilled. This can often be easily done when you're planning on building a home, because the lot can be assessed before the structure is in place. When adding geothermal heat systems for an existing home, the area where geothermal wells can be drilled is limited because of the structure. A geothermal heat system can be retrofitted for an existing home in most cases.

Your lot

The size of your yard is an important factor in deciding what kind of geothermal heating system is the right choice for heating your home. A horizontal loop field for a geothermal heating systems needs a lot of room to work with, for laying the underground loop which moves heat into your home. Some lots aren't large enough for the necessary components which make up a horizontal loop field. A vertical loop field for a geothermal heating systems needs very little room to work with, and could fit on most properties. All thought horizontal loop fields and vertical loop fields for geothermal heating systems have their advantages and disadvantage both are equally energy efficient ways to heat your home.

Your investment

The price of installing a geothermal heating system can be a shock to some homeowners, but most investigating this option are aware of the return on investment. Because of the underground installation mentioned above, it does cost more upfront to install a geothermal heat system than say, a natural gas furnace. Because of their high efficiency, geothermal heating systems allow homeowners to begin recouping their installation expenses immediately. When you aren't stuck paying high utility costs any longer, you'll see that your investment was worth the price. Plus, geothermal heating systems are low-maintenance, which isn't always the case with other types of heating systems.

Ground source heat pumps vs. air source heat pumps

Heat pump systems are an energy efficient way to heat and cool your home. Geothermal heat systems use a special type of heat pump to provide comfortable temperatures for your home. Many people do not realize there are different types of heat pumps available, but only one type will work with a geothermal heat system; ground source heat pumps. The other type of heat pump is an air source heat pump. Ground source heat pumps and air source heat pumps operate similarly, but use different sources to heat and cool your home. To understand the differences, and to learn why a ground source heat pump is necessary for geothermal heat systems, let’s take a look at how the two types of heat pump systems operate.

Heating

For our geothermal heat systems, a ground source heat pump takes the energy moving through the earth loop and distributes it indoors. Ground source literally means the source of the energy comes from within the Earth, or the ground. Below ground, there is a stable source of energy which can be used to heat your home or building despite low outdoor temperatures. Ground source heat pumps are located inside the home or building. This is important because our cold New Jersey winters can have an adverse effect on this sensitive equipment.

An air source heat pump uses energy found in outside air to heat your space. The air source heat pump extracts the heat from outdoors and distributes it inside for warmth. You may be asking how this will work when temperatures are cold outside; the sun’s energy is always warming the air, even if it doesn’t seem to feel like it. While there is always energy which can be extracted from the outside air, there may not be enough. Here in New Jersey, we can experience some pretty frigid temperatures during winter months. Air source heat pumps may have trouble providing all the heat you need because of these conditions, which means you’ll have to use a backup heat source to achieve a comfortable temperature.

Cooling

In the hot summer months, ground source heat pumps extract warm air from indoors to cool the space. It pulls the warm indoor air and performs the heat transfer process, using refrigerant as the medium for heat transfer. The heat is absorbed by the lower temperature fluid within the earth loop. The earth loop then circulates the fluid back underground where it deposits this warm energy into cooler-temperature areas within the earth.

Air source heat pumps also extract the warm air from inside your home or business. Instead of sending the heat underground, it simply sends it outdoors.

You see, both heat pumps work to move heat from higher temperature to lower temperature areas; the difference is their energy source. For geothermal heat systems, ground source heat pumps are the way to go, allowing you to access the energy found below ground for heating and cooling your home.

How do geothermal heating and cooling systems work?

A geothermal heating and cooling system is a natural way to heat and cool your home or business. By accessing pockets of stable temperatures below the Earth’s surface, the Earth’s temperatures are used to provide comfortable indoor temperatures. There is no need to burn fossil fuels to heat your home as with a gas furnace, which makes a geothermal system an energy-efficient and environmentally safe way to heat and cool your home. Let’s take a closer look at how they work.

While the temperature outdoors changes day to day, the temperatures below ground remain fairly consistent all year. A geothermal heating and cooling system taps into the underground temperatures below your home or business to bring heat or cooling up into your structure. To do this, a network of underground piping, often referred to as the “earth loop,” is used in conjunction with other equipment to make use of the Earth’s energy.

Geothermal heating and cooling systems are comprised of two key elements; the earth loop and the heat pump. The earth loop and a heat pump work together to utilize underground energy for heating and cooling. The system’s earth loop is filled with fluid which circulates through the pipes. This fluid absorbs the stored energy below ground and carries it inside. The heat pump works to distribute this energy indoors, functioning differently depending on the season.

In the winter, the heat pump compresses the heat gathered below ground to a higher temperature, and distributes this heat throughout the structure. In the summer, the heat pump works to extract warm air from inside. It then sends these warm temperatures through the earth loop back into the Earth. The earth loop deposits this energy into the cooler, below-ground space. Because geothermal heating and cooling systems have the ability to function like a heater, and as an air conditioner, these systems are ideal for use all year.

A geothermal heating and cooling system allows your home or business to utilize natural energy found underground to provide for your heating and cooling needs. By connecting your home or business to an underground energy source, you’ll have access to a clean, and affordable energy source. They burn no fossil fuels, which allow them to produce three to four times as many units of energy for every unit of power used by the system. To learn more about how geothermal heating and cooling systems can work for your home or business, contact Smith Sustainable Design.