. Geothermal heating is one of them. It's a novel system that harnesses the earth's heat and can minimize gas and electricity consumption.of options for heating your home in winter while using less energyThere are an increasing number
In the following lines, we'll tell you how it works, how much it costs, and what types of homes it might make sense for.
What is geothermal energy and how does it work?
. A few meters below our feet, the temperature remains fairly constant throughout the year. And this stability is what allows a home to be heated (or cooled) very efficiently.the heat comes directly from the earth's interiorWhen we talk about geothermal energy, we're not referring to capturing energy from the sun or wind, as is the case with other renewable sources. In this case,
. This provides heating, cooling, and domestic hot water with a single installation.capture heat from the subsoilThis is a system that uses buried pipes, a heat pump, and a closed circuit to
Capturing heat from the subsoil
.there is enough heat underground to harnessThe ground acts as a natural energy accumulator. It absorbs much of the heat it receives from the sun and stores it. Through a network of buried pipes, this heat is collected and transported to the home. The key is that, even if the temperatures are very low outside,
In winter, the system extracts that heat from the ground and brings it into the home. In summer, it does just the opposite: it collects the heat from inside and expels it into the ground. All thanks to a constant cycle that consumes almost no energy.
The role of the geothermal heat pump
. It's basically responsible for transferring thermal energy from the subsoil to the home and vice versa.is the engine that drives the systemThroughout this entire process, the heat pump
To better understand this, we can think of a refrigerator: it extracts heat from the interior and expels it out the back. In this case, the heat pump does something similar, but instead of cooling food, it air-conditions spaces.
The underground temperature remains between 10°C and 16°C year-round. This allows the pump to always operate in optimal conditions, without the consumption peaks that occur with other systems.
Advantages and disadvantages of geothermal heating
Like any technology, geothermal heating has its pros and cons. Below, we review its main advantages and also the less favorable aspects that should be considered before deciding.
Advantages of the system
- It operates steadily all year round, regardless of the weather or time of day.
- It allows you to reduce your carbon footprint by not generating emissions during operation.
- In the medium and long term, it offers considerable economic savings compared to more conventional systems.
- It increases the value of the home, especially in new construction or energy-efficient renovations. In fact, the
-
Are you interested in learning more about the mortgage market?
- See more articles about Ricardo Pingarrón, Head of Rehabilitation Operations at the ICU.