Geothermal, or ground source, heat pumps have been in use since the 1970s. Although the initial cost is usually higher than a traditional heating and cooling system, in the right application the investment can be recovered in a fairly short time through the savings in energy costs. System life is estimated at 25 years for the inside components and 50+ years for the ground loop. There are approximately 50,000 geothermal heat pumps installed in the United States each year.

While Vermont and New Hampshire can be extremely cold in the winter—a few feet below the earth’s surface the ground remains at a relatively constant temperature. Depending on latitude, ground temperatures range from 45°F (7°C) to 75°F (21°C). This ground temperature is warmer than the air above it during the winter and cooler than the air in the summer. The GHP takes advantage of this by exchanging heat with the earth through a ground heat exchanger.

Closed-Loop Systems
There are several types of ground-source heat pumps, but ARC prefers closed-loop water-to-air vertical systems. These types of systems have been in use in both residential and commercial markets since the late 1980s.

Vertical systems can be used for small parcels of land. Installing a vertical system requires between 150 to 220 feet of borehole per ton, so if a 2-ton BTU heating system is needed, you’ll need to drill between 300 and 440 feet.

For a ground source heat pump system to work, it needs a way to increase the temperature of the heat that resides naturally in the ground to a sufficient level for it to be useful heat for the home. Since energy is needed to do this, the term heat ‘pump’ is used to describe the equipment. A heat pump is basically a refrigeration unit. Refrigeration equipment (window AC, freezer, refrigerator, etc.) moves heat from a space to cool it, and discharges the heat at higher temperature to the room or the outside air. The only difference between a heat pump and a refrigeration unit is the refrigeration unit cools and the heat pump heats. But heat pumps are reversible and can heat and/or cool the space.

The energy efficiency of a heat pump and the power needed to operate it are directly related to the temperature range that the heat pump works. Geothermal heat pump systems are more efficient than air-source heat pump systems simply because the ground is warmer (or cooler in summer) than the outside air temperature. An air-source heat pump removes heat from cold outdoor air in the winter and delivers heat to hot outside air in the summer. But a ground source heat pump pulls heat from relatively warm soil or groundwater in the winter and returns heat to the same relatively cool soil or groundwater in summer.

The heat pump unit is the main player in any ground source heat pump system. The heat pump includes a refrigerant-to-water heat exchanger, refrigerant piping and control valve, air coil (to heat air in winter, and to cool and dehumidy in summer), fan and controls.

Most GHP units have an option to be equipped with a desuperheater to partially heat domestic hot water. In the summer, the desuperheater uses some of the excess heat from the air conditioning to heat water. So during the summer, its essentially free to heat water. In the winter, some of the heat pump’s capacity is used to heat water. Although energy is still used to heat the water, the hot water is produced for less than a conventional water heater.