Can I Have Zone Control Installed for a Geothermal System?

At Golden Rule Plumbing, Heating & Cooling, we're strong advocates for residential geothermal heating and cooling. Two weeks ago we wrote about why going with a geothermal heat pump is a great option for winter comfort. (It’s great for summer comfort as well, but that’s something we can write about when spring comes around.) In this post, we’d like to address a question that some consumers have about geothermal heat pumps for their homes, which is whether they can have them set up for zone control.

There are plenty of misunderstandings about how geothermal systems operate. The truth of the matter is that in most ways a geothermal heat pump is like any type of heat pump. The key difference is the medium of heat exchange. But the components inside the house are much the same—and that means you can have a zone control system installed for your geothermal heat pump.

The way that standard zone control operates is through a series of dampers that are fixed inside the ductwork of the ventilation system. The dampers can open and close to redirect the air inside the ducts so that it doesn’t flow to particular rooms. Each damper has its own dedicated thermostat to control it, which is located in the room that the damper affects.

Geothermal heat pumps may draw heat from the ground to send into the house, but they still distribute that heat with a blower fan into a set of ducts. And if a heating system uses ducts, it can have zone control installed—it’s actually that simple.

If you are currently considering a geothermal installation, then we recommend you make zone control part of the installation process. This will help you save even more money with your new geothermal heat pump, adding extra savings onto an already extremely energy-efficient system.

Golden Rule Plumbing, Heating & Cooling offers quality geothermal services in Des Moines, IA.