How it works

A geothermal system works like a refrigerator.  The heat pump is used to increase or concentrate heat.  This type of equipment is already used in most houses to keep food fresh i.e. the refrigerator.  If you fill your refrigerator with pots of well water at a temperature of 8 °C, the water will be cooled to a temperature of 4 °C.  The heat drawn from the water is transferred directly to the kitchen via the coil at the back of the refrigerator.  As long as you replace the pots of water as soon as they have cooled down you can heat your kitchen with the ground energy drawn from the well water.

When well water is circulated directly in a heat pump, the water is cooled and the heat is transferred to your house in the same way as it is by the refrigerator.  The liquid can also circulate directly in an underground annulus installed in the ground around your house.  As it is pumped into the system, it is cooled by the heat pump and then heated again by the ground.  A well designed system will heat and cool your house year after year.

The heat pump is a key element in a geothermal installation and can heat air that circulates in standard ducts in your home or heat water in a ground heating system.  If you reverse the system you can draw the heat from your house and transfer it to the ground and provide air conditioning to your house during the hot summer months.

Ground-coupled heat exchanger is a cheap geothermal type that we don’t suggest.

Where can geothermal energy be used?

The greatest advantage of geothermal drilling is that it is accessible virtually everywhere.  There is generally enough space in the grounds of a classic suburban house to install a geothermal system.  Plastic pipes can be inserted in geothermal wells.  Geothermal energy i.e. heat, can even be derived from a liquid circulating in plastic pipes.

For more information on drilling and geothermal installations, feel free to contact our expert geothermal energy installers.