Using A Ground-Source Heat Pump To Take Your Home Off The Grid

Heating and cooling systems are two of the most costly appliances that a homeowner has to pay for. Thus, if you are trying to live on a tight budget or make room in your budget to fund the adventures you want to take, you should look into ways to reduce your heating and cooling costs. Installing a ground-source heat pump can do just that. You may even be able to generate your own electricity to heat and cool your home, which will reduce the draw on earth's resources as well as your wallet. 

Start with an Air-Source Heat Pump

A heat pump is basically an AC unit in reverse. It uses a set of evaporator coils located outside your home to absorb heat from the outside air and a set of condenser coils to vent that heat into your home. The biggest weakness of an air-source heat pump is that air temperatures fluctuate dramatically. And while you can use a heat-pump to cool your home, it is, nonetheless, true that the hotter it is outside, the harder your system has to work to cool your home, and the colder it is outside, the harder your system has to work to heat your home. 

The Advantages of a Ground-Source Heat Pump

A ground-source heat pump operates on the same principle as an air-source heat pump, with one important difference. When installing a ground-source heat pump, installers bury a specially designed set of coils under the ground where temperatures are much more moderate and constant. By tapping into the moderate temperatures under the ground, a ground-source heat pump will greatly improve on the efficiency of an air-source heat pump.

Taking Your Home off the Grid

A ground-source heat pump runs on electricity, so if you install a set of solar panels and/or a wind turbine, you should be able to generate at least some of the electricity needed to power your heat pump. In this way, you can take your heating and cooling system off the grid. 

A ground-source heat pump will help you to efficiently use the electricity required to heat and cool your home, which should reduce your heating and cooling costs. Furthermore, if you can heat and cool your home without drawing electricity from the grid, you can virtually eliminate the costs associated with operating an AC unit and furnace. Thus, you should at the very least look into using a ground-source heat pump in your home. Click here to learn more about the process of having one installed.