Standard furnaces and air conditioners use electricity, gas or oil to heat or cool air and then blow that air throughout your home. The efficiency of the system is determined by the amount of fuel required to raise or lower the temperature of the air to the desired setting.
But what if you didn’t have to start with cold winter air or hot summer air? What if you could start heating or cooling from a more moderate temperature? Well, that’s exactly what a heat pump does. Instead of using large amounts of fuel to heat or cool air, heat pumps use much smaller amounts of electricity to move heat that existing heat energy from the ground to your home.
Outside temperatures swing from scorching heat to frigid cold as the seasons change, but the temperatures of the earth six to 10 feet underground remain mostly constant. These subsurface temperatures vary, depending upon the geographic latitude, but they are independent of the seasonal changes occurring in the air above them. From 45 degrees Fahrenheit in the northern climes to 75 degrees in the deep southern latitudes, whatever they are is what they remain. In Fort Worth, the temperature 10 feet below the surface stays around 55 degrees.
A geothermal heat pump uses small amounts of energy to exchange the constant subsurface ground heat with the fluctuating heat of the air. During the winter months, the 55-degree temperature 10 feet below the surface is warmer than the air temperature, so the pump provides geothermal heating. In the summer months, when the Texas sun heats the air to uncomfortable extremes, that 55-degree subsurface temperature is much cooler than the air temperature, and the pump provides geothermal cooling.
Geothermal heat and cooling systems have three main components.
Our professional sales and service staff would be glad to provide you with a cost-benefits analysis of a geothermal heat pump for your residence or commercial building. We are family owned and operated and have been serving the Fort Worth area for more than 25 years. Call us today for an Energy Star Home Performance Evaluation and find out if a geothermal heat pump is the right solution for your home!
We want to make it affordable and easy to have your HVAC equipment serviced or repaired. Should you need a new system installation, we’ll work with you to stay within your budget.
Our knowledgeable staff is ready with the latest information about programs that you can take advantage of to save you money on new heating and cooling equipment for your home.