Heat Pumps: What are they and how do they work?
1. What is a geothermal heat pump? A geothermal heat pump is an electrically-powered device that uses the natural heat storage ability of the earth and/or the earth’s groundwater to heat and cool your home or business. 2. How does it work? Like any type of heat pump, it simply moves heat energy from one place to another. Your refrigerator works using the same scientific principle. By using the refrigeration process, geothermal heat pumps remove heat energy stored in the earth and/or the earth’s groundwater and transfer it indoors. 3. How is heat transferred between the earth and the home or building? The earth has the ability to absorb and store heat energy. To use that stored energy, heat is extracted from the earth through a liquid medium (groundwater or an anti-freeze solution) and is pumped to the heat pump or heat exchanger. There, the heat is used to heat the air. In summer, the process is reversed and indoor heat is extracted from indoors and transferred to the earth through the
