Geothermal
What is Geothermal?
Water Furnace Explains
Geothermal Heating and Cooling
Geothermal Heating and Cooling
No matter what climate you live in, the temperature throughout the year varies. For some climates that means blazing summers that cool to frigid winters. What many people don’t realize is that the temperature below ground (regardless of climate or season) stays fairly consistent all year.
The ground is able to maintain a higher rate of temperature consistency because it absorbs 47% of the suns energy (heat) as it hits the Earth’s surface. Water Furnace geothermal systems are able to tap into this free energy with an earth loop. This technology is then used to provide your home or office with central heating and cooling.
Geothermal Heating: During the heating cycle, a Water Furnace geothermal heat pump uses the earth loop to extract heat from the ground. As the system pulls heat from the loop it distributes it through a conventional duct system as warm air. The same heat energy can also be used for a radiant floor system or domestic hot water heating.
Geothermal Cooling: In the cooling mode, the heating process is reversed – creating cool, conditioned air throughout the home. Instead of extracting heat from the ground, heat is extracted from the air in your home and either moved back into the earth loop or used to preheat the water in your hot water tank.
Choosing a Water Furnace Geothermal Heat Pump Is Simply Smarter
Water Furnace geothermal heating and cooling systems come in three basic configurations, designed to meet the needs of your home and provide the highest efficiency and the greatest energy savings. And nearly all of our products meet or exceed the Energy Star® requirements. [Energy Star® Compliant Water Furnace products]
Water Furnace Geothermal System Types:
All-In-One Systems:
Provide year round comfort. Built to heat through the winter months, and provide cooling all summer. Water Furnace geothermal heat pump systems replace the traditional indoor furnace/outdoor air conditioning applications.
Water Furnace Products
Water Furnace
Synergy3D series
With the Synergy3D Series, you’ll enjoy incredible energy savings on your heating and cooling costs while providing hot water for radiant floor heat. The Synergy3D is the geothermal equivalent of a boiler, furnace and air conditioner—all in a single unit. Units are available in four vertical sizes. Heavy-gauge metal cabinets are coated with a durable metallic finish for long lasting beauty and protection.
Copeland dual capacity scroll compressors provide outstanding performance and reliability, while coated air coils add durability and longer life. Synergy3D units utilize ozone-safe R-410A refrigerant. Variable speed ECM blower motors are used for quiet operation. A sophisticated microprocessor control sequences all components during operation for optimum performance, and provides easy-to-use troubleshooting features with fault lights and on-board diagnostics. To help achieve ultimate comfort, heating priority may be given to forced air zones or radiant floor heat.
The Synergy3D was designed to combine the comfort of radiant heat and the efficiencies of forced air. Whether you choose to use radiant heat in small zones like bathrooms and the kitchen, or in larger zones like the basement floor, the Synergy3D delivers. Use in combination with our Water Furnace GeoTank. The GeoTank is simply the best way to capture preheated water from your unit. Engineered specifically for your Water Furnace geothermal system, the GeoTank includes unique features that make installation and operation easy.
Water Furnace
7 Series
The ultimate in comfort and performance.
The Water Furnace 7 Series® provides homeowners the ultimate in comfort and performance and represents our finest products. This line is for those who accept only the best and is built using the latest technologies and highest standards.
The 700A11 signifies groundbreaking innovations on multiple fronts—most notably as the geothermal industry’s first variable capacity residential unit and the only unit to surpass both the 41.0 EER and 5.3 COP efficiency barriers. These ratings are vastly greater than ordinary conditioning systems and 30% higher than current two-stage geothermal heat pumps. Our Aurora communicating controls work in unison with variable capacity technology.
A variable capacity compressor, variable speed loop pump, and variable speed blower motor combine to offer a level of comfort you have to experience to believe. Best of all, 7 Series units use the stored energy in your yard to provide savings up to 70% on heating, cooling, and hot water.
Water Furnace
5 Series
As the upgrade to our highly successful Envision Series, the 5 Series represents some of our best features and efficiencies yet. The 500A11 provides forced air heating, air conditioning, and even generates a portion of your home’s hot water – all from a single unit that offers a level of comfort and savings that’s far greater than any ordinary system.
Available in many sizes and configurations, the 500A11 provides exceptional performance, versatility, and quiet operation. All 5 Series products utilize environmentally friendly R-410A refrigerant and the best in system components, including all-the next generation of Water Furnace controls – Aurora. Aurora controls provide two-way communication between components for the ultimate in performance and troubleshooting capabilities. 500A11 units also feature an all aluminum air coil for durability and extended system life. The 5 Series upholds the standards we’ve set over three decades and the trust associated with the Water Furnace name. Every unit is computer run-tested to ensure flawless performance at start-up – and in the unlikely event of a malfunction, they’re backed by the best warranties in the industry. Choose a geothermal system that’s Smarter from the Ground Up.
Articles And Information
Press Release
GEO – Geothermal Exchange Organization
The U.S. Dept. of Energy says:
“Geothermal (ground-source or water-source) heat pumps achieve higher efficiencies by transferring heat between your house and the ground or a nearby water source. Although they cost more to install, geothermal heat pumps have low operating costs because they take advantage of relatively constant ground or water temperatures. Geothermal (or ground source) heat pumps have some major advantages. They can reduce energy use by 30%-60%, control humidity, are sturdy and reliable, and fit in a wide variety of homes. Whether a geothermal heat pump is appropriate for you will depend on the size of your lot, the subsoil, and the landscape. Ground-source or water-source heat pumps can be used in more extreme climates than air-source heat pumps, and customer satisfaction with the systems is very high.”
Responsibly advancing the geothermal heating and cooling industry in Wisconsin
Geothermal systems heat and cool your home, school, or office by utilizing the near-constant ground temperature in the earth. In Wisconsin, below about six feet the ground is about 50° throughout the entire year. Geothermal systems (also called GeoExchange, Ground Source Heat Pumps, or just ‘Geo’ Systems) use heat pumps to absorb heat from this 50° earth during the winter and then expel heat to this earth in the summer.
The design of your geothermal system will depend on the particular site of your building. But there are many other important factors affecting the cost and performance as well – the thermal conductivity of the ground and the heating and cooling requirements of your building have a large impact on the system design. Contact a WGA member today to learn about a design for your specific application.
