S & J Heating and Cooling
Quality GeoExchange/Geothermal Installations
for Mid-Michigan
The winters in Michigan can be bitterly cold. However, regardless of the temperature outside,
the soil just 5 feet below the surface remains between 40 and 50 degrees fahrenheit.
This temperature can be used to heat buildings in the winter and cool them in the summer.
Water
is the medium used to capture the heat of the soil and move it to where it
can be utilized.
This water can be pumped directly from a well, run
through a Geothermal heating and cooling system
and then discharged
into a ditch or pond.
This is called the 'open loop' or 'pump and
dump' method.
The alternative to using fresh well water to operate a Geothermal system is referred to as a 'closed loop.'
Closed loops can be installed in a variety of ways, but all accomplish the same goal -
to move the heat that is always present in the ground
into buildings in the winter and to move the heat out of buildings and back into the ground in summer.
Obviously,
50 degrees (the temperature of the soil)
is not a very popular
room temperature for human beings in either summer or winter!
The
boost needed to produce temperatures more suitable comes from a
refrigeration cycle involving a compressor
and refrigerant similar to
those found in any refrigerator or air conditioner.
The refrigerant is
vaporized by the heat of the incoming water and is then compressed.
This compression raises the temperature of the refrigerant to a level
at which it can be used to heat household air.
As
the refrigerant gives up it's heat, it once again liquifies and the
heating cycle repeats itself.
In cooling mode, instead of the
refrigerant absorbing the heat of the water,
it is vaporized by the
warmth of the household air and the heat is then transferred to the water,
carried through buried pipes and absorbed by the comparatively
cool
soil.
Once again cooled, the water returns to the house to absorb more heat and
the cooling cycle continues.
