The industry of geothermal heat exchange has been around for years. Actually, the Greeks used geothermal heat to heat their hot baths a couple of millennia ago. Geothermal heat as we now apply the term refers to the art of extracting latent geothermal heat from the ground. This does not require that you have a hot spring on your property as the ground absorbs heat through radiation from the sun, even on cloudy days. Most ground at a depth of about eight feet maintains the same temperature year round, with little or no fluctuation. The earth is a great insulator.

The advances in recent years in geothermal heat exchange have allowed us to use electricity and environmentally friendly refrigerants to extract and compound this latent heat. We require ground or water temperature at a minimum of 40° in order to operate a geothermal heat exchange system efficiently. The higher the temperature the more efficient the geothermal heat system.

The heat pump itself consists of primarily a compressor and a heat exchanger. The compressor compresses, much the same as the compressor in your fridge or deep freeze, allowing the system to separate heat from cold. In your freezer it separates the air into warm (goes out the back or under your freezer) and cold (goes into the freezer). A water based geothermal heat exchange system operates on the same fundamentals, except using water, rather than air.

The technology behind the geothermal heat exchangers and compressors has advanced in recent years to attain a level of efficiency, which make them very attractive as alternate heating and cooling methods. Actually, studies carried out by the United States DOE (Department Of Energy) have identified water based geothermal heat exchange systems to be the most efficient and cost effective way to heat and/or cool your home or business - bar none. It makes you wonder why it is considered an "alternate" method?

The geothermal heat pump itself resides in your home and really gets all of the credit for heating and cooling the home, but it is actually the miracle of nature through ground heat that provides the renewable resource which makes the system capable of doing its job on an on-going basis.

Outside of the residence we extract our latent heat source. The earth maintains its constant temperature despite our taking this latent heat through absorption. As long as we have designed and installed our geothermal heat extracting loops (ground loops), or return our heat-extracted water according to established industry standards, this process can be repeated indefinitely.

The real essence of geothermal heat exchange is multi-faceted. It is cheap to operate, and if installed properly, can result in costs that are a fraction of your current fuel bill. Natural gas is the second most effective method for home or business heating, but still cannot compare in operating cost to geothermal heat exchange.

TAX INCENTIVES
      There are numerous incentives offered for geothermal heating and cooling systems across the United States. For South Dakota click:

       . South Dakota State GEO $$ Incentives»