Air Conditioning Service Los Angeles

 More than one million homes in the United States today have installed geothermal heating and cooling systems. The US Environmental Protection Agency has stated that geothermal provides the cleanest and most efficient way to heat and cool a home today. Geothermal means heat from the earth. Our planet can provide a continuous source of heat and energy both near the surface and deep within the ground.

Geothermal systems use the earth's natural ability to Air Conditioning Service Los Angeles  store solar energy. Mild temperatures exist in steady supply at depths ranging from six feet to a few hundred feet below the surface of the earth. A geothermal system captures these moderate temperatures to both heat and cool homes.

The main component of a geothermal heating and cooling system is the ground source heat pump. Heat pumps transfer heat from one source to another. When mild temperature fluids are used, as they are with geothermal, the heat pump becomes even more efficient.

There are a few types of systems used to provide the mild temperatures for the heat pump. Water piped from a nearby well can supply a source of temperate fluid. Using what is called an open loop system, water is extracted from the well, run through the heat pump and returned to the same aquifer. Because this water is a moderate temperature to begin with, the heat pump can efficiently use it to efficiently create temperatures which can then heat our homes.

With a more common system called a closed loop system, a fluid mix is piped through areas outside around the house allowing it to absorb the mild temperatures present. This fluid mix can be circulated in one of three ways. At a site which contains lots of easily excavated outdoor space, pipes are buried approximately four to eight feet below ground. Where space is limited or the digging is not as good, one or two wells may be drilled to place the piping. In a third way, pipes are run through a nearby pond to absorb the mild temperatures of the surrounding water.

During the warmer months, settings on the heat pump are reversed to transfer heat back into the ground. This helps to cool the home. Because the heat pump transfers heat rather than creating it through combustion, efficiencies are much higher. Heat pumps are rated three to four times more efficient than fuel burning furnaces, making them much less expensive to operate.

Here is one point to consider. For anyone thinking about installing a geothermal system in the United States between now and 2016, a geothermal tax credit of 30% is available. So now you can install an energy smart heating and cooling system and save money on taxes! Long life expectancy is another advantage of a geothermal heating and cooling system. The average useful life of this type of system is 25-years. This is almost twice the life of a fuel burning system!