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The Earth-Coupled or Geothermal Heat Pump Air Conditioning System
Abstract
As utility costs have risen despite political
campaign promises and energy conserving measures
implemented by the utility companies such as alternative
fuel use (coal and nuclear), co-generation,
etc., homeowners have begun to search for effective
methods of reducing their electricity bills. In
some cases homeowners are faced with utility bills
That are approaching the cost of their mortgage payments.
For those with fixed incomes, such as the
elderly or those looking forward to retirement in
the near future, this has become an alarming reality.
Virtually every homeowner would like to reduce his
utility bill but the question is, what items should
he address in order to have a significant impact on
his electricity costs? According to Houston Lighting
h Power Company, 50% of an electricity bill can
be attributed to the air conditioning system, and
another 15-20% to the hot water heating system.
Therefore, to dramatically reduce utility costs one
should look first at these two "energy gulpers" and
next at proper home insulation, window coverings,
etc. The other electrical appliances in the
home use relatively minor amounts of electricity
compared to the air conditioning and hot water heating
system. This paper will describe the geothermal
heat pump and the desuperheater as the latest developments
in energy efficient air conditioning and
water heating.
Citation
Wagers, H. L.; Wagers, M. C. (1985). The Earth-Coupled or Geothermal Heat Pump Air Conditioning System. Energy Systems Laboratory (http://esl.tamu.edu); Texas A&M University (http://www.tamu.edu). Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /6765.