Heating the Home with Thermal Pumps

Better known as heat pumps, thermal pumps are most commonly used as part of alternative energy systems to heat and cool a home. They draw thermal energy from any number of sources, including heat from the earth, heat from underground water, heat from surface water, heat from air and waste heat from other mechanical systems. Thermal pumps work like refrigerators, only they draw heat from some outside source rather than your food.

The most common application for thermal pumps in the modern home is the ground source (or geothermal) heat pump. The pump itself is actually part of a larger system that effectively cools and preheats indoor air using the relatively constant temperatures of the earth between 6 and 12 feet below the surface. Even in the coldest of winters, this layer of earth remains between 50 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Electric and hydrothermal heat pumps are also available.

Heat pumps are gaining in popularity fast due to tax incentives, rebates and the inherent energy and cost savings in using a more efficient heating and cooling system. The main barrier for heat pumps is the high up front costs, although tax incentives and energy savings can recoup those costs in 2-10 years, depending on the system and climate.

Thermal pumps are typically not powerful enough to handle the entire heating and cooling load for an average home, but they can supplement as much as 70 to 80 percent of cooling loads and greatly improve the efficiency of conventional boilers by preheating air. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, a system using a ground source heat pump is up to 72 percent more efficient that a conventional electric system alone.

Thermal Energy Pumps / Thermal Actuator / Thermal Expansion Tanks