Geothermal System Benefits Are Many: Consider These

If you’re looking for one of the most efficient and dependable cooling and heating systems for your northwest Arkansas home, consider a geothermal system. These are geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) that use the consistent solar heat stored a few heat underground to cool and heat your home instead of heat found in the air, where temperatures vary widely season to season. All heat pumps move heat from one place to another instead of relying on burning fossil fuels. 

In most GHP systems, an underground loop field serves as a “heat sink” for heat removed from the home during the cooling season, and the source for warmth to transfer inside in the winter. The indoor air handler contains an evaporator coil and a blower motor that send conditioned air throughout your home via ductwork, as in any forced-air A/C or heat pump system. Unlike air-source heat pumps, the GHP doesn’t use an outdoor condensing unit, however, which saves space in your yard and is much quieter. Other benefits of the GHP include:

• Energy efficiency. Although the up-front cost of installing a geothermal system is higher than other kinds of HVAC systems because of the loop field, the energy savings add up quickly. Homeowners can expect to see up to a 70 percent reduction in conditioning costs with such a system.
• Tax credits. Until the end of 2016, a hefty federal tax credit is available for homeowners who install a qualifying geothermal system. Homeowners can deduct 30 percent of the cost and installation charges, including labor, and unlike other energy tax credits, there’s no cap on the amount. The credit applies to primary residences, as well as vacation homes.
• Clean. A GHP is one of the cleanest ways to cool and heat your home. It cuts down on carbon emissions since it uses so much less electricity. It uses the clean, free and abundant heat stored underground in the winter instead of a fossil fuel, as well. When cooling your home, the GHP is much more efficient than regular A/Cs or heat pumps, since it requires much less energy to expel heat into the already-cool ground than into the warm outside air.
• Durable. The loop field can last up to 50 years or longer, and with proper maintenance, the indoor air handler can reach 25 years.

If you’d like to pursue the benefits of a geothermal system further, please contact us at Paschal Heat, Air & Geothermal. We’ve provided exceptional HVAC services for northwest Arkansas homeowners for more than 40 years.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Northwest Arkansas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about geothermal systems and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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