An Introduction to Geothermal
Heat Pumps
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You probably use heat pumps every day
At least, you do if you regularly use refrigerators, air conditioners or freezers. These are called air source heat pumps, since they send heat into, and draw heat from, the air.
A refrigerator works by putting liquid under pressure to force it to change into a gas. Elsewhere in the system, the hot gas is cooled and is returned to its liquid state. A compressor changes the liquid to a gas and a condenser changes it back again.
The outer coil on the back of a fridge gets warm because changing a liquid into a gas gives off energy/heat. The inner coil cools the inside of a fridge because changing a gas back into a liquid takes heat away.
Geothermal heat pumps
Geothermal ground source heat pumps also work by giving off heat when they change a liquid into a gas and absorbing heat when they changing it back. As the name suggests, they do part of their process below the earth’s surface.
In winter, a compressor in the building changes liquid from the underground loop into gas. This releases a great deal of heat that is then sent into the building.
In the summer, the system runs in reverse, pulling the heat out of the building as it changes the gas back into a liquid and sending it into the ground.
The UCiM experience
Geothermal and you
Geothermal heat pumps are efficient, clean and reliable. They use electricity to run the compressor, which makes them sustainable, and use heat from the earth, which makes them renewable. The underground loop is expected to last up to 100 years.
Outdoors, installation will involve drilling deep boreholes into the ground, a process that will have a minimal impact on the church property, including landscaping. Indoors, the heat pumps and compressor will replace our gas furnace in size and location. The current ducts and vents will still carry warm and cool air.
Once installation is complete, the place will still look the same, inside and out. The difference will be in uniform heating and cooling in all seasons and much lower utility bills.