Ground Source Heat Pumps Explained
Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHPs) use the earth’s natural, steady underground heat to warm your home. These systems pump a mix of water and heat transfer fluid through buried pipes. This fluid soaks up heat from the ground and groundwater, then carries it back to an indoor unit. There, a smart process of refrigeration and compression boosts the heat’s temperature, making it ready for your home’s heating, like radiators, underfloor heating, or hot water.
GSHPs are remarkably efficient, often achieving efficiencies of 400% or more. This means they deliver at least four units of heat for every unit of electricity consumed, making them a sustainable and cost-effective heating solution year-round, even in the coldest months.
There are two primary ways to install the underground pipes: horizontal trenches, which require significant land but have lower excavation costs, or vertical boreholes, which need much less surface area but involve more specialized and expensive drilling.