If you’re like most home or commercial building owners, there’s a good chance you’d jump at the chance to lower your heating and cooling costs. To do that, however, you need to choose and install the most efficient HVAC solution available. Among all of your options, geothermal heat pumps are by far the most efficient. Unfortunately, plenty of residents in Omaha believe that geothermal HVAC systems don’t work in climates like ours. In fact, the opposite is true. Here’s everything you need to know about how geothermal heat pumps work here in Omaha and your various installation options.
How Geothermal Heat Pumps Work
One of the reasons that geothermal heat pump systems work here in Omaha is that they don’t depend on the outside temperature to function. This stands in stark contrast to air-source heat pumps, which often struggle to provide heat in sub-freezing temperatures. Geothermal systems rely on the stable year-round temperatures found just a few feet below the surface of the Earth.
Here in Omaha, the temperature you’ll find at a depth of approximately ten feet is around 50 degrees Fahrenheit all year. In the summer, that’s more than cool enough to allow a heat pump to provide adequate air conditioning. And it’s plenty warm enough to provide heat in the winter. Just like air-source heat pumps, geothermal systems work quite well at temperatures above freezing.
The Efficiency of Geothermal Heat Pumps
No matter what other type of HVAC system you currently use, a new geothermal heat pump will offer substantial efficiency gains. The reasons are simple. In the winter, a conventional HVAC system consumes fuel or electricity to generate heat. In the summer, a conventional HVAC consumes electricity to remove heat from your home or business. Heat pumps, on the other hand, don’t consume fuel to generate heat and are more energy efficient than conventional air conditioners, too.
In the winter, a geothermal heat pump can operate at energy efficiencies as high as 600%! That means you get up to six units of heat for every unit of electricity consumed. In the summer, geothermal heat pumps consume less electricity than conventional air conditioners because they don’t need to overcome the heat of the outside air as they operate. Instead, they circulate a refrigerant through a series of underground pipes, where it can either collect or expel heat as needed.
Geothermal Heat Pump Installation Options
After reading about the underground pipes that geothermal heat pumps need to operate, you may be wondering if you have enough room to accommodate them. Years ago, when geothermal heat pumps first came on the market, they came with extensive installation space requirements that made them prohibitive for certain properties. Today, that’s no longer the case.
While many geothermal heat pumps still use horizontally buried pipe loops that require plenty of space to install, they’re not the only option. Today, it’s possible to install a geothermal heat pump with vertical underground piping. This takes up far less space and makes a geothermal heat pump a viable option for almost any property here in Omaha. In most locations, a vertical heat pump pipe installation requires about 20 feet of outdoor space to accommodate a few holes between 100 and 400 feet deep.
What’s more, the pipes needed for a geothermal system routinely outlive the heat pumps that use them and represent the majority of your upfront installation costs. It’s common for a geothermal heat pump’s underground piping system to last for 50 years or more. That means you’ll save substantial sums on each subsequent heat pump you purchase, maximizing your total savings on your system.
Your Local Geothermal Heat Pump Specialists
Now that you know how geothermal heat pumps work and that they’re viable here in Omaha, you may want to explore installing one at your home or business. If so, Xtreme Heating & Cooling LLC can help. We’ve served residents and businesses in the Omaha area for over a decade and specialize in geothermal heat pumps. We also offer complete HVAC services, including installation, maintenance, and repairs, including commercial systems. And, we’re accredited by the Better Business Bureau and have an A+ rating, so you know you’ll always get quality work at fair prices when you work with us.
So, if you’d like to know more about how a geothermal heat pump could offer efficient heating and cooling for your Omaha home or business, call the team at Xtreme Heating & Cooling LLC today!
