All heat pumps work to move the heat from outside the home to inside the home. Traditional pumps did this by taking the air from outside, moving it through a refrigerant to a machine on the inside of the home, and turning it into a gas that will absorb the heat. The heated gas is then released into the home and heats it. Geothermal heat pumps heat the space inside the home using the same concept. The difference is that geothermal heat pumps use the temperature of the ground outside, rather than the air. This results in a much more even temperature, and an even more efficient way to move the heat from one place to another.
Have you ever noticed that the ground outside is much cooler than the air, even on a blazing hot summer day? But in the middle of winter, if you feel the ground, especially if you can dig down a bit, you’ll find that the temperature of the ground is much warmer. This is because the earth has a natural insulator. This only means that when the air is hot, the ground will be cool and when the air is cold, the ground will be warm. A geothermal heat pump works exactly the same way. When the air in your home is hot, it will move that hot air into the ground outside. But when the air inside your home is cold, it will move the warm temperature from the ground into your home. Although this is a wonderfully scientific explanation for how to heat your home, there are more benefits that a geothermal heat pump will provide.
The first benefit is that the energy from the earth is a renewable source of energy. This means that the even though energy is being used, it is also being replaced in a very short amount of time. This is again because the earth is always maintaining a fairly constant temperature. Compare this to the constantly fluctuating temperature of the air outside and it’s not hard to see why geothermal heat pumps are so much more efficient! And of course any time you’re saving energy, you’re also saving money on your utility bills! Because all good things come from the earth!