What are Heat Pumps?

Heat pumps, especially ground based ones, are starting to become more widespread throughout the world because of the many advantages that they offer.  The high demand and prices of fossil fuels as well as the negative effect that they have on the environment have started to incent people to switch to more sustainable heating options. Most people, however, are not aware of the existence of these pumps; let alone how exactly they work. This is where this article comes in handy.

What exactly is a ground based heat pump?

The basic process of a ground based heat pump is this: Once turned on, the heat pump takes heat from a place in your house and then transfers that to another place. You can think of this as being the same process as the refrigeration of your air conditioning unit, except the process is reversed. The heat provided by the sun throughout the day is stored into the ground. This is where heat pumps take the heat from and then distribute it all over your house. It's also possible to set the heat pumps to draw heat from rivers, well, or other water sources.

How exactly does a ground based heat pump work?

A heat pump is a simple device with a couple moving parts inside of it. When installing these pumps, a heat exchanger is placed inside the ground area and creates a closed loop system. The pipes that run from this heat exchanger unit to the ventilation areas inside your house are than filled with a cooling liquid that will be pumped throughout the pipes.

The main purpose of this cooling liquid is to draw the heat and then push it through to the compressor unit which will heat it even further. Once the optimal temperature has been reached, the heated liquid is pushed into your house through the ventilation system. You can also reverse the process during summer days in order to cool your house.

The installation process

Before going through with the installation process, ensure that you have enough room available in your backyard for the heat exchange system and the pipes. The most effective solution would be to install horizontal loop circuits as they are the most effective. This takes a huge amount of space, however, and is not accessible for most people.

If you have a tight space, you may ask for the help of professional contractors who will be able to drill various holes through which they will install the piping. If you have an existing radiation in your house, it's possible to use a heat pump in conjunction with it, but you should consider installing underfloor heating solutions for better results.