How Does a Geothermal HVAC System Work?

A: A geothermal system moves heat between your house and the ground instead of between your house and the outdoor air. A few feet down, ground temperature stays roughly steady year-round, so the system always has a stable place to pull heat from in January and dump heat into in July — which is the whole trick.

The parts, in order:

1. Ground loop. Buried pipe circulates a water solution, laid horizontally across acreage or drilled vertically where space is tight.
2. Heat pump. An indoor unit — ClimateMaster, in Trinity installations — extracts heat from the loop or rejects heat into it, depending on the season.
3. Distribution. Conditioned air moves through ductwork, which is why duct design matters as much as the equipment.

Because the loop lives underground and the heat pump lives indoors, there is nothing outside to hail-dent or pack with red dust.

If you already own a geothermal system and something is off, our diagnostic is $95, waived when you approve the repair on that same visit. See geothermal repair, or talk it through at 405-420-4895.