Geothermal Heating & Cooling in Birmingham, AL

One of the best places to look for home comfort is beneath the ground around your home. With each passing year, geothermal heating and cooling is becoming a more popular way to provide pleasant environments inside homes. Although installing a geothermal heat pump is usually more expensive than installing a standard air-source heat pump, its numerous benefits and energy savings make it worthwhile for many properties.

To find out if your home is right for a geothermal heating and cooling system, call Douglas Cooling & Heating in Birmingham and talk to our HVAC professionals. We provide full services to install, replace, repair, and maintain geothermal heat pumps. We place an emphasis on helping our customers achieve the best in energy-efficient equipment.

To schedule geothermal heating and cooling services in Birmingham, AL and the surrounding areas, reach out to the team at Douglas Cooling & Heating.

How Geothermal Systems Work

A geothermal heating and cooling system is a type of heat pump, i.e. a device that moves heat from one location to another. In heating mode, it brings heat into the home, and in cooling mode it removes heat from the home. A standard heat pump is an air–source heat pump, which means that it uses the air as its medium of heat exchange: an outdoor unit exhausts or absorbs heat directly from the air.

A geothermal heat pump, on the other hand, is a ground–source heat pump that uses the stable temperature in the earth for heat exchange. The indoor components still absorb or release heat from the air, but underground loops containing water mixed with anti–freeze are responsible for the other half of the heat exchange. These loops draw on the earth’s heat in heating mode, and use the earth as a heat sink during cooling mode. The loops need to be buried 6 to 10 feet deep to take advantage of temperature stability.

Why You Should Consider Geothermal Installation

What exactly are the advantages of using a ground–source heat pump? There are a couple ones to consider:

• Reliability: Because the temperature of the earth remains stable at the depth of the loops, the weather won’t affect the energy efficiency of the heat pump. This makes a heat pump dependable during even the coldest winter night or hottest summer day.
• Energy efficiency: The temperature stability also helps the heat pump work more efficiently. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, geothermal heating and cooling is 3 to 6 times more energy efficient than a conventional air–source heat pump.
• Longevity: The interior components of a geothermal heat pump will last around 20 years with proper maintenance, while the ground loops can last around 50 years. That’s an immense amount of time to enjoy the benefits of energy savings.

We Handle All Services for Geothermal Heating and Cooling Systems

The long system lifespans of geothermal heat pumps is one of their major appeals. But no mechanical system can be 100% free from malfunctions. It’s possible that your geothermal heating and cooling system will run into operational issues at some point, such as leaks in the underground loops. Our technicians are ready to help whenever you need it. They also offer the regular maintenance care necessary for geothermal systems to last for decades while minimizing repair needs.

To get started with a new geothermal heat pump, or to arrange service for one, pick up the phone and call Douglas Cooling & Heating in Birmingham. We have established a reputation for trust and quality over four decades.