When you want the most energy-efficient central air conditioning system available, turn to geothermal cooling. Geothermal HVAC systems harvest the energy below ground to both heat and cool your home. Temperatures underground vary little throughout the year, which decreases the amount of energy needed to cool a home. In the summer air temperature can approach 100 degrees F in our region, but underground, it’s 40 to 50 degrees cooler.
In the cooling mode, a geothermal system deposits the heat the refrigerant collects from your home. Instead of having to dissipate it outside into hot temperatures using an outdoor condenser, as in a standard air-source heat pump, it does so using an underground loop field. The indoor components house an evaporator coil and a blower fan that circulates the air through your ductwork.
Yard size is not a limiting factor with geothermal systems, since the loop field can be placed either horizontally or vertically.
Specific advantages of such a system include:
- Low energy bills. These systems use the least amount of energy for cooling your home. In fact, the payback period is the fastest among HVAC appliances, since energy bills drop so much. Although it costs more to install a geothermal system, federal tax credits active through the end of December 2016 will help offset the investment. Homeowners installing a qualifying system can deduct its total cost to receive a 30 percent credit, with no limit on the cost of the system.
- Durability. Most underground loop fields have a warranty that covers them for 50 years, and the indoor components can last 25 years or more with proper maintenance. None of the system components are exposed to the weather and sunshine, which also increases their durability and reduces maintenance.
- Quiet. Geothermal cooling doesn’t use an outdoor condenser, saving space in your yard and making it quieter. The indoor fan runs just as quietly as your refrigerator does.
For more in-depth information about geothermal cooling, contact the pros at Mowery Heating, Cooling and Plumbing, helping Greater Indianapolis homeowners with their HVAC systems since 1970.
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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