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Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Depends how long of pipe you can stick in the ground. And where you live.
There are a few locations on earth where you don't need to dig. One of my friends in Colorado enjoys 180F AT the SURFACE!!! (outlet) It is by far the "hottest" of (natural) mini systems I have worked on.
For those that want to use Cooling for their temp beds... GTHP, there are cheaper options. I have pretty good luck with 'cool-tubes' (Been using since the 1970's).
It is handy to have your own dozer and excavator for exploring options. For $500 U can rent either for weekend fun.
I suspect there are a few steps missing between sticking a pipe in the ground and me taking a hot shower upstairs.
This system is for helping to heat your house by pre-heating to 55-60 degrees so you will need only to heat from there with natural gas or heating oil or whatever system you heat your home with.
The hot water for your shower comes from a hot water tank. I suspect you do not use your hotwater tank to heat your house with. To get hot water you would need to go down a few thousand feet--which I $u$pect the average homeowner i$ not going to want to do.
This system is for helping to heat your house by pre-heating to 55-60 degrees so you will need only to heat from there with natural gas or heating oil or whatever system you heat your home with.
That is not how a typical geothermal system works for heating. That 50 degree liquid from the ground loop is run through an evaporator to turn it into a gas. Then it's compressed, when you compress a gas you are also compressing the heat energy. Now you have a gas that might be 140 degrees. That gas is run through a heat exchanger if for example you wanted to heat water for radiant heating. Keep in mind the heating loop in the house is a closed loop and is never mixed with the water from the ground. The gas is uncompressed and returns much colder liquid back to the ground which is then heated back up to 50 by the ground.
Quote:
Originally Posted by http://www.tnddrilling.co.uk
Th involves electric to run it but it's significantly less than if you had standard electric heat. Since the "fuel" is heat from the ground or the air for air source heat pumps the efficiency for these units is based on how much electric they use vs. standard electric. It might be like 300% or 1/3 the electric.
Last edited by MissingAll4Seasons; 06-07-2014 at 03:19 AM..
I don't think anyone has mentioned that, if you have a pond, you can sink the coil in the pond instead of burying it in the ground. Not sure what the minimum depth is, but I'm thinking 12'.
That is not how a typical geothermal system works for heating. That 50 degree liquid from the ground loop is run through an evaporator to turn it into a gas.
No, the 50 degree liquid from the ground loop is run through an evaporator to transfer energy to a refrigerant liquid to turn it into gas.
That's already a far more complex system than the simple downpipe heat exchanger proposed by the OP.
And therein lies the core reason that geothermal systems are not more popular in the US, because they typically require a larger capital investment than more common systems, with a long payback cycle. In the long run they make sense, but long range planning is not a favorite activity of US homeowners.
That's already a far more complex system than the simple downpipe heat exchanger proposed by the OP.
It's dead end for heating.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CAllenDoudna
You can then run air over the water pipe in what is called a heat exchanger and then use that pre-warmed (or pre-cooled) air in your ventilation system lowering the cost of heating (or cooling) your house.
Where is the air coming from?
The house? It's going to work in reverse and suck the heat out the house which is fine if it's summer and 100 degrees out. .
That is not how a typical geothermal system works for heating. That 50 degree liquid from the ground loop is run through an evaporator to turn it into a gas. Then it's compressed, when you compress a gas you are also compressing the heat energy. Now you have a gas that might be 140 degrees. That gas is run through a heat exchanger if for example you wanted to heat water for radiant heating. Keep in mind the heating loop in the house is a closed loop and is never mixed with the water from the ground. The gas is uncompressed and returns much colder liquid back to the ground which is then heated back up to 50 by the ground.
Th involves electric to run it but it's significantly less than if you had standard electric heat. Since the "fuel" is heat from the ground or the air for air source heat pumps the efficiency for these units is based on how much electric they use vs. standard electric. It might be like 300% or 1/3 the electric.
When you pay .22 per KW........your electric bill is out the window. I considered buying a new home about the same size as I have now, but different town, more land, etc. When I compared my utility bills with nat gas heat and cooking (baseboard radiator), tankless hw with the new house.......my bills were 20% less. I can see it working well in other areas where electric is not so expensive. I was really disappointed.
I'm not building a new home without all the floors going thermal.
And probably in concrete. Grundfoss is the new system we installed in my bros. studio and home in B.C. Canada.
Not a new idea: the parents home was built modestly by some Swede in California in the late thirties.
We're not sure how it even works, but it's passive, runs through the NG heater, and still works today!
Even S.Cal. can see freezing nights sometimes.
When you pay .22 per KW........your electric bill is out the window. I considered buying a new home about the same size as I have now, but different town, more land, etc. When I compared my utility bills with nat gas heat and cooking (baseboard radiator), tankless hw with the new house.......my bills were 20% less. I can see it working well in other areas where electric is not so expensive. I was really disappointed.
If you had electric heat before in your old home to heat that same house with geothermal you might pay 60% or 70% less for heat. As already mentioned it's a large investment initially and is going to take many years before you see any savings. There is alot of things that would have to factored in to determine how long. If you are paying a very high rate like that for electric the return is going to be a lot faster.
You are certainly using more fuel in your new home or the natural gas is expensive where you live if it's only 20% less. If you have access to natural it's going to be a crap shoot comparing it to a system like this. A lot of people do not have access to natural gas so these systems become far more desirable.
Last edited by thecoalman; 06-06-2014 at 03:17 AM..
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And where you live.
