Of all the ways to heat and cool your home, geothermal heating and cooling offers the most advantages. It uses the energy stored a few feet underground as the heat source in the winter and deposits the excess heat from your home in the summer. These systems use a heat pump and underground (or underwater) loop system to transfer energy and offer these distinct advantages:
- Durability. The underground loop field can last up to 50 years and the indoor blower up to 25 years, as long as it’s routinely maintained. Since these systems don’t use outdoor condenser/compressors, none of the parts of the geothermal heating and cooling system are exposed to weather.
- Lower energy bills. A geothermal system can reduce your energy bills from 30 to 70 percent. These systems use an underground loop field to harvest the free energy stored below the frost line. These temperatures are stable from one season to the next. Heat pumps use refrigeration technology to exchange heat, collecting it in the winter and replacing it in the summer. In the summer, the waste heat from your home can be used to heat your water if you choose to install a desuperheater with the heat pump. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that this option is three times more efficient at heating water than a conventional water heater.
- Quiet operation. Since these systems don’t use outdoor condenser/compressors, homeowners enjoy quieter homes and yards. Indoor blowers equipped with variable-speed motors run much more quietly than other kinds of blowers. A geothermal system can also be used with radiant heating, the quietest of all heating systems.
- Federal tax credits. A 30 percent tax credit is in place for homeowners who install qualifying geothermal systems through the end of 2016. The credit covers both the cost of the equipment and its installation, and there is no upward limit on the amount you can claim. It covers both primary and vacation homes, as well as new and resale homes.
If you would like more information about geothermal heating and cooling, please contact us at Mowery Heating, Cooling and Plumbing. We’ve provided HVAC services in the Indianapolis area for more than 40 years.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Brownsburg, Indiana and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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