Simply put, utilizing a geothermal heating & cooling system is an investment in the preservation of our environment for generations to come. The secret of geothermal efficiency, is the systems ability to transfer the heat stored in the earth to the home. Simply moving the heat from one location to another. In fact, 47 percent of the sun's energy that reaches our planet is absorbed into the earth. That's 500 times more energy than all of humanity would need in a year! And it's an unlimited source of energy.
Installing a geothermal system in a typical home is the environmental equivalent of planting 350 trees—or taking two cars off the road. That's because geothermal systems don't burn fossil fuels, and they don't emit carbon dioxide, which has been associated with the greenhouse effect and global warming.
The Geothermal Heat Pump Consortium says current geothermal systems save more than 14 million barrels of crude oil every year. The only energy needed to run water source geothermal systems is a small amount of electricity reducing the need for new coal-powered electric power plants. Result? Cleaner air and less acid rain. In the case of waterless advanced geothermal systems, electricity is not even required.
Loop Fluid - Environmental Impact
R-407C Refrigerant is a safe, non-toxic, non-flammable fluid. The EPA has approved the refrigerant and copper ground loop to be safe and non harmful to the earth.
You see R-407C refrigerant simply boils into a vaporized gas at -46°F. So the non-toxic, non-flammable refrigerant in a waterless geothermal would simply vaporize once it hits the 55° ground in the event of leak, which would pose no danger to the ground or the ground water. As a testament to its safety, consider your household refrigerator. For over 50 years and even today a household refrigerator is susceptible to springing a leak in the aluminum coil and refrigerant will leak in the freezer compartment where the food is stored. If the leak was a small leak, it could often take days or even months before a person would realize that the refrigerator was getting warmer and had a leak. Meanwhile even after the food is being exposed to the refrigerant, the food is still consumed without any harm done to anyone.
The fluid that circulates both inside the geothermal unit and throughout the copper ground loop is enviromentally friendly R-407C refrigerant (freon). The refrigerant in the ground loop is a key element to what makes a DX waterless geothermal so different from a conventional system.
Refrigerant has the ability to absorb and give off excessive amounts of heat from the ground, which is why ALL goethermal systems air conditioners use some type of a refrigerant in them. Circulating refrigerant throughout the copper ground loop eliminates the need for water in the system and eliminates the need for many components in the system. The refrigerant in the ground loop is what enables the system to absorb large amounts of heat from the ground.
