Geo-Thermal Heat Pump
Econar Geosource Vara 2 plus
Weather your retrofitting your home or planning of new construction an ECONAR GeoSystem is a great and efficient way to heat and cool your living or work space. The costs of heating fuel and natural gas are rising, but no need to worry because the energy you need is in your land, right beneath your feet.
ECONAR designs and manufactures some of the best geothermal heat-pumps available today. The Environmental Protection Agency has called the the geothermal heat-pump the most energy efficient, environmentally friendly, and cost effective space conditioning system available.
How It Works
It could be a blistering day in August or a bone-chilling day in January, the temperature right beneath your feet into the ground or water is about 50 degrees F. We're able to collect that energy through a closed or open loop that utilizes a well. Our buried GeoPipe is filled with geothermal heat transfer fluid which collects the energy and transfers it to the building, where the heat pump takes it and and uses it to heat and cool the air. The loop fields act as a heat source in the winter and a heat sink in the summer.
When the energy gets inside the building, that is when our GeoSource heat pumps kick into play. The actual heat pump unit looks like a traditional furnace but works more like a refrigerator. The heat from the bottom of the refrigerator is the heat from the food inside being transferred out of the fridge. That is the basis of how the pump works. They move energy from the underground loop field into your home or business. It's nice to think most of the energy to heat and cool your home is right beneath your feet.
Which Heat Pump is right for you?
The geothermal heat pump utilizes the earth as the medium from which heat is extracted. Water is pumped through a heat exchanger in the heat pump. heat is extracted, and the water is then returned to the ground either through dicharge on a drain field or through a closed earth loop system. Because ground temperatures do not vary as dramatically as outside air temperatures, the heat available for transfer, as well as the unit's operating efficiency, remains relatively constant throughout the winter. So in the summer, it's cooler than the outside air, and in the winter, it's warmer - making it an ideal energy source.
Although the initial installlations cost may be higher, annual operating costs are much lower than all other types of heating systems. The added savings carry over to summer where cooling costs can be 30-50% less than the cost of cooling with an average central air conditioning system.
Basic Operation
The geothermal heat pump uses water circulating through buried pipes. This water can be from a well, or merely part of a closed network of pipes that is looped horizontally or vertically in the ground. As the ground temperatures water reaches the heat pump, its heat is absorbed by a low-pressure liquid refrigerant which then vaporizes. It is then compressed to about 160 degrees and moves to the air heat exchanger. Since the temperature in the house is cooler than the refrigerant, a law of physics takes over and heat is released. Then, during the summer, the refrigerant's flow is reversed, enabling it to cool the house.
