Air Source Heat Pumps vs Geothermal Heat Pumps

Our final first round match-up in the Home Heating Tournament takes us to the world of Electric Heat Pumps. In recent years, Electric Heat Pumps have become an increasing popular type of heating system, rivaling many furnaces for efficiency while saving homeowners a whole lot on their monthly heating bills.

Today, we'll determine which of the two most common varieties of Electric Heat Pump has earned the right to challenge the Electric Furnace in round two.

Air Source Heat Pump Geothermal Heat Pump

Air Source Electric Heat Pump

Unlike many other types of heating systems, Air Source Electric Heat Pumps don't burn or convert fuels to heat. Instead, they transfer existing heat between the outdoors and indoors through a compressor, fans, and a series of coils. This enables a common, spilt-system Air Source Heat Pump to act as both a heating and cooling system, depending on what time of year it is. With duct work, a home's entire heating and cooling needs can be met with Air Source Heat Pumps, with monthly costs regularly dropping to half of that of electric furnaces and two-thirds of average gas furnace rates. The catch is, Air Source Heat Pumps can't handle a harsh winter like most traditional heat systems can. While the flow of heat can keep things pleasant in areas where the temperature rarely drops below freezing, they tend to fail in colder winter climates. That, combined with the high cost of the more advanced Air Source Heat Pumps, make them an iffy option for much of the country.

Geothermal Heat Pump

A newer variation on electric heat pumps is the Geothermal Heat Pump. While Geothermal Heat Pumps also transfer air rather than burn fuel, they use the the far more consistent temperatures of underground piping to feed their indoor heat pumps. Again, the system can heat in the winter and cool in the summer, but by circulating heat from the ground, Geothermal Pumps prove more versatile and reliable than regular Air Source Electric Pumps. They can save you considerable costs on heating, cooling, and water bills, which should make up for their high installation costs. Geothermal Heat Pumps are also highly popular for their environmental benefits (no fuel burning), quietness, and consistency.

And the winner is. . .
Geothermal Heat Pumps. The advances in the Geothermal models tend to fix some of the downsides to traditional Air Source Heat Pumps. So, it's on to round two!