GEO-THERMAL HEATING

Gouin and Son has been a leader in promoting Geothermal heating as a reliable, cost effective and environmentally friendly alternative to heating and cooling homes in New England for more than a decade now. Geothermal heating has been used since Roman times as a way of heating buildings and spas by utilizing sources of hot water and hot steam that exist near the earth's surface. Where such geothermal resources are available, it is possible to distribute hot water or steam to multiple buildings. In recent years, the term

Geothermal heating has frequently been used to refer to the heating and cooling that can be achieved through the use of a Geothermal Heat Pump. The geothermal heat pumps that use earth energy sources to supply direct heat to homes are the most efficient technology currently available for heating and cooling?

They are actually net producers of energy, delivering 3 to 4 times more energy than they consume. They can reduce the peak generating capacity for residential installations by 1-5 kW and can be used effectively even with a wide range of ground temperatures.Almost everywhere, the upper 10 feet of Earth's surface maintains a nearly constant temperature between 50 and 60°F (10 and 16°C).

A geothermal heat pump system consists of pipes buried in the shallow ground near the building, a heat exchanger, and ductwork into the building. In winter, heat from the relatively warmer ground goes through the heat exchanger into the house. In summer, hot air from the house is pulled through the heat exchanger into the relatively cooler ground. Heat removed during the summer can be used as no-cost energy to heat water.

The United States Department of Energy is a great source for information regarding this "new" science. To learn more visit their Geothermal Technologies Program website by clicking here. If you'd like more information about the benefits of installing a Geothermal heating/cooling system in your home or business, give us a call today. We tap the Earth for Energy!

Even the press has taken notice of the Gouin's vision!

Article from the Laconia Citizen (Jan 14, 2008)

Geothermal options get attention in Lakes Region By Geoff Cunningham Jr.

While the option has not fully caught on in the Lakes Region, rising fuel costs have prompted people to look to the ground when it comes to heating both homes and municipal buildings.

Imagine installing a heating system that uses no oil or gas but, rather, combines a looped pipe under the earth with a water solution to draw the earth's natural heat into a home through the use of a pump.

It may sound like science fiction but for people like Mo Gouin of Meredith, it has been a primary source of heat for more than a decade, allowing them to shrug off the repeated news of hikes in crude oil prices that currently have home heating oil hovering around $3.20 per gallon, much to the dismay of those using conventional boilers. (Click here to read full article)

Article from the Oklahoma City Journal Record (Sep 30, 1997)

Geothermal pumps use earth's energy to heat, cool buildings
by Katharine Webster (AP) LACONIA, N.H.

The guests at Maurice and Helene Gouin's bed and breakfast, Rest Assured, come to swim and fish in Lake Winnisquam, cruise in Gouin's solar-powered launch, or simply gaze across the water as they eat blueberry pancakes with homemade maple syrup. But Lake Winnisquam is more than just a beautiful view and a refreshing dip for the guests at Rest Assured. It also provides the energy that heats and cools the three-story, 4,800-square-foot house on the lake's edge.

From the second-story porch off the kitchen, Gouin points out the white-painted logs that hold down a 1,500-foot loop of plastic pipe on the lake bottom. Water mixed with antifreeze runs through the loop and back into a geothermal heat pump in Gouin's basement. The heat pump exploits the temperature difference between the lake water and a refrigerant gas to heat Rest Assured to 70 degrees in winter, cool it to 72 degrees in summer and supply two-thirds of its hot water. The cost is about $700 a year in electricity, a bargain by any measure. "It's nothing but a refrigerator, basically," Gouin explains. "When you put food in the refrigerator, you take heat out of the food and dump it in a coil in the back of the refrigerator. This is just a bigger unit." (Click here to read full article)