Geothermal vs. Traditional Units

Geothermal, Heating & Cooling

Geothermal heating and cooling is growing in popularity amongst Lexington homeowners. What makes these systems different from traditional furnaces and air conditioners? Let’s take a look at some of the differences between geothermal and traditional heating and cooling options.

Function

Geothermal systems can offer space heating, space cooling, and water heating from a single system. With traditional HVAC systems, a furnace is used for heating and an air conditioner for cooling, then you have a water heater that separately provides hot water. All these systems have many moving parts to care for; geothermal systems do not have as many components, requiring less maintenance care.

Energy source

Geothermal systems use clean, natural energy derived from below-ground temperatures combined with electricity to heat and cool your home. For every unit of electricity they use, geothermal systems can produce at least 4 units of heating and cooling energy, on average, making them extremely efficient. Traditional heating systems may utilize a variety of fuels, including electricity, natural gas, propane, or oil. Traditional cooling systems operate on electricity. Traditional heating and cooling equipment ranges in efficiency levels.

Cost

Geothermal heating and cooling systems are more expensive to install than traditional heating and cooling systems. This is due to the ground loop component which must be installed to absorb and transfer heat below ground. There may be tax credits or rebates from your utility provider available for installing geothermal systems, which can help lower the cost of installation.

While more expensive to install, geothermal heating and cooling systems are less expensive to operate than traditional heating and cooling systems. This is due to their higher efficiencies and the cost of utility power and gas heating fuels. The lower operating costs generates fairly quick payback periods — homeowners can recoup the cost difference between geothermal and traditional HVAC systems in just a few years.

Are you interested in adding a geothermal heating and cooling system to your Lexington home? Let the experts at GreenBox Home Services and install a geothermal system that will keep you comfortable and save you money.