About geothermal · How it works
Your yard has been collecting sunshine for free
Fairfax summers roast and the winters bite, but a few feet down the ground never notices. The earth's crust soaks up 47% of the sun's energy and holds it at a steady temperature all year. Geothermal is just the machine that borrows it.
90 seconds, no jargon
Watch the whole idea
Winter
Heating: the ground lends you its warmth
In the heating cycle, fluid circulating through the earth loop picks up heat from the 57°F ground. The WaterFurnace heat pump concentrates that warmth and pushes it through your existing ductwork.
No flame, no flue, no fuel truck. The same heat can also feed radiant floor zones and pre-heat your water tank along the way.
- Heat extracted from the loop, not made by burning anything
- Delivered through the ductwork you already own
- Optional radiant floor and hot water assist
Summer
Cooling: the same loop, run backwards
In cooling mode the system reverses. Heat is pulled out of your rooms and pushed into the loop, where the relatively cool earth swallows it. What comes back through the vents is quiet, dry, conditioned air.
The heat leaving your house does not have to go to waste either: in summer it can heat your water essentially free.
- House heat rejected into the cool ground, not fought with a condenser
- No outdoor unit roaring next to the deck
- Free-ish hot water as a byproduct all summer
Curious what it looks like under your lot?
A designer maps the loop, sizes the unit, and prices it, free.
Contact
Talk to a person, not a phone tree
Question about your system, a strange noise, or just want a second opinion on a proposal you got elsewhere? Write or call, a geothermal designer answers both.
