Geothermal
Our Geothermal Systems
Geothermal systems use solar energy, taking advantage of the stable temperature of the earth. Amazingly, the earth absorbs 48% of the sun’s energy, producing a fairly constant ground temperature that hovers between 45° and 70° F. Here in southwest Missouri, the ground temperature is typically about 57° F. To utilize the natural temperature of the earth, geothermal systems employ a water solution that flows through pipes buried in the ground (a ground loop system).
The solution absorbs heat from the earth in the winter, moving it to the geothermal system inside the house. Once the heat is inside the house, the system condenses it and transfers it to the air circulating throughout the home, providing warmth when needed. In the summer, the process is reversed. Heat is absorbed from the air inside the home (similar to the way refrigerators extract heat from food to make it cool) and then transferred into the ground through the same loop system.
Nearly all of the loops installed by Long Heating And Cooling are vertical ground loops. We use well-drilling equipment to drill 200 feet straight down, insert two pipes with an u-bend fitting at the end, and then backfill the hole.
This is the U-bend fitting at the bottom of the hole. Each hole has 400 feet of geothermal pipe in it.
The system pumps fluid through the loop field using a fractional horsepower closed-loop pump.
