Geothermal & Hydronics
Geothermal Heating & Cooling Systems
Geothermal is the most efficient heating and cooling product on the market today. Geothermal uses the heat energy stored in the earth to heat your home or building in the winter and removes heat from your home to cool it in the summer. Geothermal systems can produce up to 70% savings on heating costs and 40% on cooling costs, with 25-year equipment life and 100-year loop life expectancy.
A geothermal heating and cooling system (also called a ground source heat pump) uses the constant temperatures of the ground to heat or cool a building in all seasons. It transfers heat to or from the ground by circulating a fluid through underground loops or an open loop well system.
The system uses a heat pump, which is similar to a refrigerator or air conditioner, to move heat from one place to another. In winter, the heat pump extracts heat from the ground and brings it into your home. In summer, it moves heat from your home into the ground, keeping you cool. The temperature underground (about 6-10 feet below the surface) stays relatively constant year-round, around 50-60°F in most U.S. climates, which is why this is so efficient.
A geothermal heat pump system can also produce hot water by capturing heat removed from the home during cooling. A desuperheater, which is a small heat exchanger between the geothermal unit and the water heater, absorbs excess heat from the refrigerant and transfers it to the water heater. This can reduce water heating costs by 50-60%.
70%
Savings on Heating Costs
25 yr
Equipment Life Expectancy
100+ yr
Loop Life Expectancy
Hydronic System Types
Radiant Floor Heat
Radiant heat systems supply heat directly to the floor or to panels in the wall or ceiling of a house. The systems depend largely on radiant heat transfer — the delivery of heat directly from the hot surface to the people and objects in the room via infrared radiation. Radiant heating is the effect you feel when you can feel the warmth of a hot stovetop element from across the room. When radiant heating is located in the floor, it is often called radiant floor heating or simply floor heating.
Hydronic Fan Coils
A fan coil unit (FCU), also known as a Fan Coil Unit, is a simple device consisting of a heating or cooling coil and fan. It is part of an HVAC system found in residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. Unlike a central air handling unit, fan coil units do not usually have ductwork and are used to control the temperature in the space where it is installed, or serve multiple spaces. It is controlled either by a manual on/off switch or by a thermostat, which controls the throughput of water to the coil.
Hydronic Baseboard Heating
Hydronic (water) baseboard heaters are a type of zone heating system. They're usually the sole source of heat in a house. The name comes from the heaters' location: along the baseboard of exterior walls. Instead of heated air, hot water flows through sealed pipes from a central boiler to the baseboard units and returns to the boiler to be reheated. The water is typically heated to between 140 and 180 degrees F (60 and 82.2 degrees C).
Geothermal Heating & Cooling Systems
Standard High Efficiency Boilers
Standard high efficiency boilers, also called condensing boilers, are able to achieve efficiencies of 90% and above. They capture the heat from combustion gases that are usually lost out the flue in a standard boiler, and use that heat to preheat the cold water returning from the heating system.
Combi-Boilers
A combination boiler (combi boiler) is both a high efficiency water heater and a central heating boiler, combined within one compact unit. Therefore, no separate hot water cylinder is required, offering space saving within the property. Although there are various forms of combination boilers, the most common type uses a heat exchanger to superheat water when it is required, at a high flow rate. The hot water circuit supplies the boiler with mains cold water, and the boiler uses its domestic hot water heat exchanger to heat this water to the required temperature.
Hydronics with Air-to-Water Heat Pumps
Air-to-water heat pumps (AWHP) are an emerging heating technology that is quickly gaining popularity as a sustainable and efficient alternative to traditional heating systems. Instead of burning fuel, AWHPs work by transferring heat from the outdoor air to water, which is then distributed throughout the building for space heating and domestic hot water production.
They are about 30 percent more efficient than air-source heat pumps and can provide up to 47 percent energy savings compared to electric resistance heat, making them an environmentally friendly and cost-effective option for heating buildings.