Yes! A properly sized closed loop geothermal system can take plenty of heat out of the ground to heat a home or office even in an Ohio winter. The temperature several feet underground stays between 45 and 75 degrees F depending on the part of the country in which you live. Research has confirmed that even though you are experiencing extreme seasonal air temperatures, the ground maintains a constant temperature just a few feet below the surface of the earth. In Ohio that ground temperature remains around 55 degrees.
Geothermal systems are designed to make use of the earth’s constant temperature as an exchange medium instead of making use of the outside air temperature. This is why geothermal heat pumps maintain 300% to 600% efficiencies on very cold nights unlike the air-source heating systems that do not exceed 175% to 250% efficiency.
The buried pipe, or “ground loop” portion of a geothermal system, is the biggest technical advancement in heat pump technology to date. The idea to bury pipe in the ground that gathers heat energy began in the 1940s. But only in recent years, with new heat pump designs and improved piping materials have companies been able to improve geothermal systems, making them the most efficient heating and cooling modes available.
The warmed liquid from the loop in the ground is brought to the house by a flow center or pump mounted near the furnace on the inside of the house. The flow center transfers the warmed fluid from the piping underground to the heat exchanger in the geothermal furnace’s refrigeration system to warm the air. From there the system disperses the heat throughout the home like a conventional system.
One of the most immediate benefits you will feel in a geothermally heated home is the comfortable, round the clock, even heat as compared to a blast of hot air and a cooling off period like you get with a traditional gas forced air furnace.
Hopefully this explanation has clarified a few basic things about a geothermal system. As a geothermal homeowner myself for over 18 years I’m a true believer in the benefits of geothermal energy.
