Ground Source Heat Pumps

Ground source heat pumps are also known as water source heat pumps and as geothermal ground source heat pumps. By any name, they are able to heat and cool a house (as anyone living with a ground source heat pump will tell you). If they are equipped to do so they can even supply hot water to your house.

A very fine resource for learning the finer points of these ground-coupled pumps and for getting the latest news on their applications is the trade organization IGSHPA, the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association. They can assist you in ground source heat pump installation projects by offering you their list of accredited installers. They can also keep you up to date on the incentives that are being offered by the individual states and the federal government, including various tax credits. They're very keen on the environmental benefits of their technology, pointing out that efficient ground source heat pump design has helped to eliminate more than three million tons of carbon dioxide, reducing the amount of toxic emissions in the atmosphere. They also offer guidelines for sizing the ground source heat pumps specific to your geology, hydrology, and land availability.

Before you begin searching for ground source heat pumps for sale, you'll probably wish to track down a few ground source heat pump reviews. A quick trip to the local library will yield scientific and trade magazines in varying degrees of technical complexity, but one of the most reliable publications for the sort of hands-on review you're seeking would be one of those back-to-the-land magazines. Periodicals that deal with off the grid homesteading will often contain discussions from the kinds of folks who have already used their units in exotic applications such as ground source heat pumps in greenhouses. They can also be a treasure trove of advice concerning ground source heat pump sales, and what you should look for. They also are a good place to research ground source heat pump manufacturers, since the folks that write into those magazines rarely pull punches. They tend to be plain-spoken and to the point, so if they've had an experience with a pump or a manufacturer that left them less than satisfied they're not shy about speaking their minds.

As you can see, the keystone to understanding what you need to know about ground source heat pumps is asking the right questions and researching the answers.