Renewable Energy For Heating & Cooling Your Sleepy Hollow Home

Renewable energy is defined as any type of naturally occurring energy source that can never get used up. For instance, the sun provides unlimited energy that we use through solar power systems. The wind is also a renewable energy source that never gets depleted. Hydroelectric power is another example.

Renewable energy sources can be used for heating and cooling the air and water in a home. Harnessing and converting the energy produced by these naturally occurring processes is useful in both the HVAC and Electrical industries. One such renewable energy source for heating and cooling is the geothermal HVAC system.

Here is some information from our 30-year veteran New York HVAC contractors at Clover Comfort. You will find it interesting if you are looking into renewable energy methods to heat and cool your Sleepy Hollow home.

Geothermal Heat Pumps

There are a few different types of geothermal heating systems, all of which use a heat pump. In general, the heat is transferred into or out from the home when temperatures are extreme outdoors.

There is a constant temperature at certain depths within the earth. Refrigerant lines are buried at these depths and a heat pump is used to transfer the refrigerant between the earth and the house. The steady heat energy produced by the earth is a never ending, naturally occurring renewable energy source.

Heat Pump Air Conditioners -Convection Heating & Cooling

Instead of a furnace that heats by burning oil, this heating and cooling system is confined to an indoor and outdoor unit. The heat pump uses convection to transfer the heat from the outdoors to the indoors through a refrigerant line and vice versa. The difference in this system between the geothermal system is that the refrigerant lines aren’t buried in the ground.

Instead, the refrigerant lines are run to the outside unit which is called a condenser. There, a compressor takes the refrigerant from a gaseous state to a liquid state by cooling it so the heat is released. When heat is needed, they reverse operation to warm the home.

Solar Thermal Panels For Home Heating & Cooling

Solar thermal panels use renewable energy from the sun to heat for heating and cooling. They are often used in cold climates to heat homes, water, and swimming pools. The solar panels collect the heat that is radiated from the sun. From there, the heat energy is transferred through a liquid, water, or air from the solar collector to a heat exchanger connected to a storage tank. Since the energy is stored, it is available when there is no sunshine.

To cool homes for solar assisted cooling, an absorption chiller or desiccant system may be used. The absorption chiller works similarly to the refrigerator except there is not compressor involved. The heat absorbed by the solar system is used to deliver the absorption cycle instead. The desiccant system works by passing air over a silica gel or other desiccant substance to draw out humidity so the air feels comfortable. Solar heat then dries out the desiccant so it can be regenerated for use.