Geothermal heat pumps are generally accepted as being more eco-friendly than many other types of heating systems, such as oil furnaces. However, you may find yourself wondering how your heating system's eco-friendliness will affect where you actually live. Here are two ways that a geothermal heat pump can reduce your negative impact on your immediately surrounding environment.
1. Doesn't change the air temperature
Although the effect is not so great that you would probably notice it much in your own backyard, it is nevertheless the case that a normal, regular heat pump pulls heat from the surrounding air in the winter. This means that it affects the temperature of the outdoor area near your house. This effect can be compounded when there are many people in the same area, all using heat pumps. However, the geothermal heat pump instead pulls heat from far below the earth's surface, from an underground area that is kept warm by heat transfer from the Earth's core. The Earth's core has plenty of heat to spare, and it doesn't have delicate ecosystems of creatures trying to survive there, as far as we know. So this can be a much better option than pulling heat from the air around your home. In addition, the effect of the geothermal heat pump in summer is less likely to be a problem than the effect of a normal heat pump. This effect (which is a heating effect because the unit pulls heat out of your house in the summer and replaces it with cool air) is actually more of a problem because it's compounded by other human activities and creations, such as hot black roofs and hot black pavement. These effects all combined form the urban heat island effect, which is at its worst in summer and can raise the surrounding temperature by several degrees and cause big problems for nearby native species.
2. Has less effect on local air quality
Although this may not be the case with a normal heat pump, many other types of home heating systems do have a negative impact on the air quality in your neighborhood. For example, if you're burning wood, wood pellets, or coal, there could be significant smoke pollution. Common oil furnaces can even produce pollution as well. Although geothermal heat pump systems may not outclass every other heating system on every level (for example, they do acquire a significant monetary investment), they certainly do have many benefits when it comes to reducing pollution and other problematic environmental effects. Talk toa contractor, like RPB HVAC LLC , for more help.
Share