The term geothermal literally means Earth/Ground (Geo) Heat (thermal). Geothermal, or ground source heat pumps, take advantage of the constant ground or groundwater temperatures. These heat pumps use geothermal energy to heat and/or cool your home.

A refrigerant loop with a compressor extracts heat from one side (the ground) and pumps it to the heating loop in your home. It is essentially the same process that happens in your refrigerator: heat is extracted via a compressor and refrigerant loop from the inside of your refrigerator/freezer and rejected into your house.

In the summer the geothermal heat pump reverses its cycle, if you have an air-conditioning system, and heat from the home is rejected into the ground or ground water.

What makes geothermal heat pumps such a good choice for residential heating and cooling is that they do not depend on outside air temperatures. These heat pumps will heat your home as efficiently on a windy, zero-degree winter day as on a 40-degree day. Provided of course, that your house is well insulated and tight.

Geothermal heat pumps are also a very efficient way for heating and cooling your home. They use 25-50% less energy than conventional heating and cooling systems (Source: US DOE).

Residential applications of geothermal energy systems use water-to-water or water-to-air heat pumps.

Water-to-Water Geothermal Heat Pumps

Water-to-water geothermal heat pumps are generally used for heating only. They replace the gas or oil furnace that you might currently have to heat your home and water with.

It is important to know that heat pumps work most effectively when the temperature difference between the heat source (ground) and heat sink (floor heat or radiators) is small.

Ground temperatures range anywhere from 50 to 75 degF, depending on where you live. This means that geothermal heat pumps are generally not suitable for standard hot water baseboard applications, which are designed for heating water temperatures of 180 degF. Floor heat and low-temperature radiators require water temperatures in the range of 95 to 140 degF.

Some newer heat pump models are now equipped with so-called desuperheaters that can transfer excess heat from the geothermal heat pump compressor to the domestic water heater. Your geothermal heat pump can also effectively and quickly heat water for your bathtub, shower and sinks.

Water-To-Air Geothermal Heat Pumps

These types of ground source heat pumps are generally used when you need air conditioning. The Water is the heat sink, where you reject the heat from the house. The Air is the air that is distributed through your home via duct work.

Otherwise, these heat pumps function the same way as water-to-water heat pumps. And again, the efficiency of a geothermal heating and cooling system is far better than that of a traditional system.

Important To Know

The first step towards making a geothermal heat pump system be a reliable and efficient heating (and cooling) system for your home is to minimize the heating and cooling requirements with a well-insulated building envelope and strategically placed windows for passive solar gain.

Not only is your first cost reduced, because your system will be smaller. You will also tremendously increase the comfort of your home.

Geothermal heat pump systems are best designed and installed by professionals. It is not recommended to DIY. These systems must meet specific requirements. Especially the piping laid out in the ground, or down to the ground water table, must be designed and installed correctly to ensure that your geothermal heat pump system works as intended.

By: Christiane Perrin
Christiane Perrin is a registered professional HVAC engineer with a passion for the environment. She is excited about the building industry going green and wants to support homeowners on their journey to building and remodeling green homes.
http://www.greenandsustainablebuildings.com

BUILDING A GARDEN PATIO

Building a garden patio with brick or stone pavers is probably the best way to accomplish any patio project. Laying the correct patio can be a relaxing and idylic retreat for those lazy summer days, but that's why it is important that you make the right choice. That means you have to make sure it is ideally positioned in your garden.

You should not erect/build your patio in an area where it will be isolated, but consider to build it in an area with the best views. This means that the positioning is especially important, I would place my patio in a positioned where I get the sun and a degree of privacy! But this is personal preference and is upto you and your lifestyle.

DIFFICULTY LEVEL CONCRETE PATIO OR BRICK?

To build a garden patio can be very satisfying and look really good. The work is fairly straightforward if you are relatively decent with your hands. The first and foremost points to remember are good planning and preparation, without the two you will find the project harder than you expected and your results will be sub-standard.

Remember to look at the positioning of the sun, not a massive point but none the less a factor worth considering! Check out your landscape, have you got any trees obstructing the light?

YOUR CHOICE

The patio can be many shapes and designs, but if you're not confident, then it is probably best to have a square patio, although a circular one is also possible, but you would have to start cutting bricks. Circular patios can be purchased from most do-it-yourself stores and at reasonable prices.

Don't forget that you will need at least two inches on the edges to place brick edging. Clear the area you have chosen by digging it out to a depth of about 8/9 inches. Make a frame up the same size as your project and place it around the edges. Don't forget you will need to put a slight slope onto your patio to enable rainwater to run freely off. Make sure you run the slope off in the opposite direction of the house and below any damp courses!

After this you should now do a run with your bricks just to make sure everything is lined up and going to fit.

PRACTICAL GUIDE

Pour Lime Stone or any hardcore aggregate into the area to a depth of about 5/6 inches. When the area is covered with this you need to tamper it down ideally with a whacker plate. Alternatively, get a plank of wood about 8" wide by 3" thick and as long as needed and simply place it across the hardcore and hit it down with a lump hammer.

Once this procedure is completed you now need to place a weed blanket over the area to protect your patio from weeds growing up through the surface. Now you can pour your sand and it must be a minimum of 2/3 inches deep. You now need a screed to level the sand , check for a good level up against your framework.

START LAYING BRICKS

At this stage you can begin to lay your brick. Make sure you have a line to keep you on the straight and narrow. Keep checking for level as you go along laying your bricks. Always start at a corner and work your way along, you will need a rubber mallet at this point to gently tapp the bricks into place whilst using a spirit level for trueness.

Assuming you will be using standard 4 x 8 bricks at 2 inches thick, you can continue with the weave pattern this pattern looks good and is very effective because it interlocks the bricks very well and makes for a stronger job! Once your bricks are laid you need to put sand on top and sweep this into the cracks and crevices.

SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE VIEW

If you are using paving slabs then the principles are basically the same. But remember to continuously check for the right level, using pavers will probably be quicker but visually just as effective. Any cutting you need to do can be done with either a grinder, hammer and chisel or a brick splitter, I recommend purchasing a simple brick/paving slab splitter.

By: Dane Plant
http://buymyworld.com

Home improvements are a great way to get more money for your home when you get ready to sell it. But some improvements will bring more value to your home than others. Recently, installing vinyl siding has been recognized as the best thing you can do to add value to your home. Here are a few of the reasons this improvement is the single-best thing you can do for your "bottom line" when selling your house.

It looks good. Vinyl siding comes in a variety of colors and styles to fit your preferences. But in addition to that, the trim and soffits complement your home's color perfectly. You can even get several accessories to complete the look for your home that you want to create. Whether you have a ranch home, a modern-style home or a turn-of-the-century Victorian, you can find a style of vinyl siding that matches your needs.

It lasts for decades. Vinyl siding is the most popular type of siding now. Its durability adds to its popularity because it stands up to rain, snow, sleet, and rain. It won't crack or peel in the sun or hot weather. And it can take a beating without showing signs of wear and tear. If the neighborhood kids hit it with a ball, it won't dent or scratch like other types of siding. When it needs a cleaning, all you need to do is rinse it with soap and water. Afterwards, it looks like you just added a fresh coat of paint to it.

It's a great value. When you get ready to sell your home and you add vinyl siding to it, you can usually recoup about 100 percent of the money you spent for the siding. Sometimes you can add even more value to the house than what you spent for the siding. Vinyl siding is typically less expensive than aluminum, too. And you don't need to worry about people ripping off the siding to sell at the scrap yard, either.

It's easy to do. Many handy homeowners have been able to install their vinyl siding without hiring a professional company to do it for them. This can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars depending on the size of your house. It's more flexible and you don't have to worry about creases in the metal or deep cuts from the jagged edges.

If you have to choose which home improvement project to do for your home, vinyl siding should be at the top of your list. With its appearance, durability, and affordability, it's the best thing you can do for your home's overall value.

By: Jeff Lundquist
Jeff works in Edina, Minnesota home of the first indoor mall. His website provides information about Edina realty. If you are looking for a property in Edina his site has a search of the Edina MLS along with information on Edina homes.

Suspended ceilings are like a second ceiling, it is placed underneath the existing ceiling and is used to hide pipelines or ductwork. They are generally attached and suspended on wires from the ceiling above and are laid out in a grid where tiles are fitted in. Suspended ceilings can be made with a lot of materials, for example, wood.

Once the suspended ceilings have been installed you can fit in fluorescent lights or install air ducts etc. They are used a lot to cover up this kind of work anyway so suspended ceilings being installed to cover air ducts can easily be integrated in. Also you can install insulation into your suspended ceilings which absorbs heat and sound.

Suspended ceilings are also implemented so that maintenance can take place in the void that is made when the ceiling is installed.

When designing and purchasing your suspended ceilings you are going to need to decide whether or not you want the ceiling to be demountable or completely non-accessible. If you make you suspended ceilings demountable then this will allow you to easily access the ceiling void and perform maintenance on the ceiling or on other objects that the ceiling is concealing. If you make your suspended ceiling non accessible then you will not be able to perform ceiling maintenance easily as you will not be able to get into the ceiling void.

You should consider the above very seriously as the ceilings will need to be redone if you wish to be able to change a non accessible ceiling into a demountable one.

There are many different types of suspended ceilings systems but all are different depending on your requirements yet the concept is the same. For example there is the free span suspend ceiling system that is mainly used for corridors. This kind of system is made up of ceiling planks which are held by the perimeter trim on their short edges. This kind of system can be installed quickly and pretty easily, also it can produce a very nice effect when finished which is usually smooth. These types of suspended ceilings can be made de-mountable for maintenance or non-accessible; if you opt for the de-mountable type then the ceiling planks are removed to allow you your easy access.

Another suspended ceiling system is the bandraster system; these types of suspended ceilings are very flexible and can be made to match with any kind of building architecture. Once again these suspended ceilings can be made accessible or non accessible. These suspended ceiling are design with either concealed or exposed sections which link up to achieve lateral bracing, therefore these systems can be modified to fit any building.

Another system is the exposed suspended ceilings system which is another system which can be installed quickly and efficiently and also allows for you to do maintenance work in the ceiling void easily. These types of suspended ceilings have tiles slotted into a suspended grid allowing for it to be edited easily as well.

I hope this has helped in your search for your suspended ceilings.

By: Tony Savour
AMF Ceilings