If you’re considering installing geothermal heating and cooling for your home, you’re on the way to reaping the many benefits of this renewable energy source. A geothermal heat pump uses stored solar energy in the shallow underground to heat and cool the home. Instead of using fuel for heating, it extracts the heat from the ground. During the cooling months, it takes the heat from your home and deposits it underground.
Look forward to these benefits from a geothermal system:
- Reduced utility bills. The federal EPA estimates that homeowners can save up to 70 percent on their energy bills when using a geothermal heat pump. The only energy these systems use is a relatively small amount of electricity. They employ underground (or less common, underwater) loop fields that use plastic pipes carrying a water/anti-freeze mixture to harvest or deposit the heat.
- Quiet operation. A geothermal system doesn’t use an outdoor condenser, which means that your yard will be quieter. Those systems with variable-speed blowers have less fan noise indoors.
- Durability. Because the components are either underground or inside your home, these systems last longer than conventional HVAC equipment. The underground loop field can last for 50 years or more and, with routine maintenance, the indoor air handler can reach 25 years.
- Water heating. A geothermal system equipped with a desuperheater, also known as a hot water assist, heats your home’s water in the summer much more efficiently than your tank water heater. It transfers the waste heat from your home to the water tank, and according to the EPA, heats water up to three times more efficiently than your conventional water heater.
- Tax credits. The federal government is offering a tax credit for homeowners who are installing geothermal heating and cooling before the end of December 2016. The systems have to meet the minimum qualifications for the tax credit, based on the kind you choose. You can deduct 30 percent of the total cost of the system and its installation, and there’s no upward limit on the credit.
If you’d like more information about installing geothermal heating and cooling for your home, please contact us at Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning. We’ve provided top-notch HVAC services for the Lorain area for more than 34 years.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lorain, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about Installing Geothermal Heating And Cooling and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning
1 (440) 246-5440
Serving the Lorain, OH Area