Geothermal Heath Pumps

How do they work???

A Geothermal heat pump is a system which can provide effective space conditioning, heating, cooling and humidity control. They can also can be used to heat water for hot water demands. The principal of geothermal heat pumps the movement or transfer of energy from the ground to the home or business. In the summer the earth is used as a sink for heat and in the winter it is used as a source of heat. A geothermal heat pump works on the principles of the refrigeration cycle. The main components of the refrigeration cycle is the evaporator – simply the underground piping, a compressor, a condenser and a pump. The following diagram shows how a GHP system may be installed for a residential application.

For further insight into the workings of heat pumps and the refrigeration cycle. The following web sites are useful http://www.esru.strath.ac.uk/EandE/Web_sites/01-02/heat_pump/Frames2.html, http://home.howstuffworks.com/framed.htm?parent=question49.htm&url=http://www.eren.doe.gov/erec/factsheets/geo_heatpumps.html

Geothermal heat pumps are considered to be one of the most effective methods of reducing the energy consumption for residential, commercial or industrial application. It has been estimated by a number of various bodies through out the world such as the EPA of the united states that the installation of the some 4000 (confirm these figure) GHP systems contribute to a substantial saving in the release of CO2.

Generally a GHP system is of the closed loop or the open loop. The part of the system which actually absorbs the heat from the ground is the underground piping; the diagrams above show some of the possible arrangements of underground piping. Generally the pipe are buried either vertically or horizontally at either 1.5 metres to around 2 metres or vertically at around 30 to 40 metres. The pipes are usually made from polyethelene and contain an antifreeze/water solution.