GEOTHERMAL/GROUND SOURCE SYSTEM OVERVIEW
Using free energy to heat your home sounds like a dream come true; and it is true. An Earth Energy System moves energy from the ground around the home into the home. The earth, and the ground water below it, are insulated by a few metres of soil. As long as the sun shines this energy will be available for use in home building.
The average ground temperature is 10.1 degrees Celcius and the few metres of soil insulate the earth and the ground water below. This earth and ground water provides a free, renewable source of energy; enough to heat and cool the home built on it. It only has to be moved from the source into the building.
An Earth Energy System is created by drawing ground water from a well and using a heat pump to extract the heat from it. A circuit of underground piping, called a loop, can be buried in the soil outside the home through which a fluid, such as water or antifreeze, is pumped. This heat transfer fluid absorbs the heat in the ground water or soil and transfers it to the heat pump, which extracts the heat from the fluid. The now chilled fluid is continuously circulated through a heat exchanger to extract more heat from the ground.
The ground loop will not hurt the earth or plants growing above it. It is not visible above ground. It changes the temperature of the water by a few degrees. It does not waste it, but returns it into the ground by means of a return well.
A vertical loop can be installed in a much smaller area than a horizontal loop and often fits a city lot.
The Earth Energy is known as low grade heat, that is, not enough to heat the home without being upgraded. However, it is constant, approximately 10.1 degrees C. - on the hottest day in summer as well as the coldest day in winter. Therefore, it works very efficiently as a source from which to draw energy. The addition of the heat pump and distribution system completes this Earth Energy heating and cooling system.