Do Geothermal Systems Need Annual Fall Maintenance?

If you use a geothermal heat pump to provide your home with its comfort needs throughout the year, then you are probably enjoying the reliable and energy saving performance that such a system offers. You want to make sure that you continue to receive this same level of heating, cooling, and savings year after year—and that means scheduling the system for routine maintenance in both spring and fall.

A reason that homeowners sometimes believe that their geothermal system doesn’t need to have maintenance on such a regular basis as other comfort systems is because of the durability and longevity of geothermal loops. It’s true that a geothermal heat pump can outlast almost any other type of home comfort system… but only if it receives regular maintenance with the same frequency as any other heat pump, AC, or furnace.

First, consider the indoor elements of a geothermal system: the actual heat pump components. There is not much difference between a conventional air-source pump and a ground-source (i.e. geothermal) heat pump when it comes to these parts. They both use blower fans, refrigerant coils, motors, ductwork, etc. The difference is with the outside source for heat exchange. No matter what type of heat pump you have, the indoor components will suffer from the same amount of wear and tear that requires bi-annual inspections and tune-ups.

Second, although the ground loops in a geothermal heat pump can last for more than 50 years, they can still develop leaks and require repairs. To catch these problems ahead of time, you need to arrange for a check-up. For open-loop systems, it’s important to have the occasional acid flush to clean out the loops of deposits.