ground source heat pumps
- Thread starter Mac
- Start date
I don't have it but i know people who have it. I don't think it is working out to good for one of them but don't know about the others. Maybee the ground is to cold up here [embarassed]. What i do know is a lot of people are looking at the air source heat pumps. Might be worth a look.
Woodguy.
Woodguy.
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Ground source heat pumps are complicated and need to be properly designed and installed. For them to work properly you need to have space for the heat to be absorbed and shed. Y
Do you have access to a well or a large lot?
Peter
Do you have access to a well or a large lot?
Peter
Wonderwino
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They may or may not be practicle considering your local geology. Wells must typically be over 100' deep, which may be impossible if you have bedrock close to the surface. One of my wife's relatives has a system that is about 20 years old. It had to be replaced because the lines in the well had clogged with minerals from the water.
the way a heat pump works is that there is either a deap well or a series of pipes below the surface of the ground. wate mixed with antifreaze is pumped through the pipes and draw in a small amount of the heat from the ground this is then pumped back into the house and into a heat exchanger which puts that small amount of heat into the cylender. the water is then returned to the pipe in the ground to get more heat. the problem with ground source heat pumps is that they are slow to heat and require a lot of expensive pumping of water, if the system is not working properly it can cost you a small fortune in electricity bills. i have seen an instilation where the plumber hard wired the circuit to by pass the sensors so that he could run it continuesly during intillation for checks. this resulted in the home owner getting a bill for 1000 euros on to of their normal bill . be very carefull that it is running properly.
if you want to heat your house you should look at a biomass boiler (preferable a gasification boiler) these are a big investment but the fuel cost is cheap and wont rise that much compared to the rise expected for electricite
if you want to heat your house you should look at a biomass boiler (preferable a gasification boiler) these are a big investment but the fuel cost is cheap and wont rise that much compared to the rise expected for electricite
Thanks for all the thoughts so far. I'm in two minds; my beloved and feisty wife is keen on the idea for eco reasons, as well as wondering about the expected rise in more traditional heating costs. I'm less convinced, but am willing to be persuaded. So far the feedback doesn't seem great though...big up front cost which would be hard to swallow if it doesn't perform as hoped. I have a pretty significant plot so would be looking at the horizontal setup, but currently has a traditional heating installation with some electrical underfloor heating in places, which is awesome.
Hmm, what to do what to do...
Hmm, what to do what to do...
ajones
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Rick if you have not got the pipes underfloor then forget it look at air source heat pumps . as I think you may have something like a wall mounted aircon unit on the inside of the house
the rough ratio of power gained/saved is one kw in and three out so one kw to run the system and three kw out they work like backward fridges
the rough ratio of power gained/saved is one kw in and three out so one kw to run the system and three kw out they work like backward fridges
stvrowe
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I had a ground source heat pump system installed in my house about 5 years ago so please consider this a qualified opinion. After several months of paralysis through analysis, I bit the bullet. It was double the cost of an air source heat pump system. I estimated about an 8-10 year payback period for the difference. I am right on track and my system was installed prior to the 30% tax credit being available.
In the first year alone, my utilities were $830 less than the previous year. I am right on track for my estimated payback and am happy with my choice.
I have two units with desuperheaters to make hot water. I also put in an 85 gallon Marathon hot water heater (that would be the plastic model that will not rust and is guaranteed not to leak for life). The upstairs unit is a 2.5 ton Trane unit with 2 speed air handler. The downstairs is a 2 ton WaterFurnace with variable speed air handler. The heat sink/source is four wells 240 feet deep. These units do an excellent job of both heating and cooling my house.
I have absolutely no regrets other than the fact that my system was installed prior to the 30% tax credit. I would do it again even without the credit - it is that good.
Check out the contractor's experience in installing this system and definitely check references. The last thing you want is some novice who doesn't know what he is doing. Ignore the advice from those who have no first hand experience with it. That would be like taking advice from someone who has never used or owned a Festool that you should also never own a Festool because it is overpriced and not really worth it.
In the first year alone, my utilities were $830 less than the previous year. I am right on track for my estimated payback and am happy with my choice.
I have two units with desuperheaters to make hot water. I also put in an 85 gallon Marathon hot water heater (that would be the plastic model that will not rust and is guaranteed not to leak for life). The upstairs unit is a 2.5 ton Trane unit with 2 speed air handler. The downstairs is a 2 ton WaterFurnace with variable speed air handler. The heat sink/source is four wells 240 feet deep. These units do an excellent job of both heating and cooling my house.
I have absolutely no regrets other than the fact that my system was installed prior to the 30% tax credit. I would do it again even without the credit - it is that good.
Check out the contractor's experience in installing this system and definitely check references. The last thing you want is some novice who doesn't know what he is doing. Ignore the advice from those who have no first hand experience with it. That would be like taking advice from someone who has never used or owned a Festool that you should also never own a Festool because it is overpriced and not really worth it.
Rick
I think it would be foolish to ignore "ALL" the advise you have been given. As said before, if you don't have underfloor heating then don't waste your time. I do have underfloor heating & i believe the water temp going through the pipes is quite significantly cooler than for radiators which will make a difference to the performance of the heat pump.
Just my opinion of course
Woodguy.
I think it would be foolish to ignore "ALL" the advise you have been given. As said before, if you don't have underfloor heating then don't waste your time. I do have underfloor heating & i believe the water temp going through the pipes is quite significantly cooler than for radiators which will make a difference to the performance of the heat pump.
Just my opinion of course
Woodguy.
whitesys
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Mac,
I have an open-loop geothermal system as opposed to the closed loop systems described.
It draws water from the well, runs it through the heat pump, and then discards the water to a stream we have in back.
It takes about 5 GPM to heat and 7 GPM to cool our 4500 SQ FT home,
This is the second geothermal unit that we have had over the past 25 years.
We have a good water table only 70 ft down and have not issues with the open loop concept other than occasionally cleaning the water lines for mineral buildup.
Since we also use the well for the house, there was not much extra expense with the installation.
We live in Indiana and this keeps the the house warm down to about 5 DegF without aux electric heat.
I would consider using geothermal again.
If I had gas available, I would also consider a regular high efficiency air-air heat pump with a high efficiency gas furnace.
You would be able to run on the heat pump 90+% of the time with the gas furnace kicking in below 15-20 DegF.
If you are considering a closed loop heat pump, do your homework and find a contractor that has a lot of experience and long term references. The issues that I have heard about involve extended heating seasons where the loop systems were undersized. THey work great at the beginning of the season but by the end of the season, you have drawn enough heat from the earth that the loops freeze up (even with anti-freeze).
I have an open-loop geothermal system as opposed to the closed loop systems described.
It draws water from the well, runs it through the heat pump, and then discards the water to a stream we have in back.
It takes about 5 GPM to heat and 7 GPM to cool our 4500 SQ FT home,
This is the second geothermal unit that we have had over the past 25 years.
We have a good water table only 70 ft down and have not issues with the open loop concept other than occasionally cleaning the water lines for mineral buildup.
Since we also use the well for the house, there was not much extra expense with the installation.
We live in Indiana and this keeps the the house warm down to about 5 DegF without aux electric heat.
I would consider using geothermal again.
If I had gas available, I would also consider a regular high efficiency air-air heat pump with a high efficiency gas furnace.
You would be able to run on the heat pump 90+% of the time with the gas furnace kicking in below 15-20 DegF.
If you are considering a closed loop heat pump, do your homework and find a contractor that has a lot of experience and long term references. The issues that I have heard about involve extended heating seasons where the loop systems were undersized. THey work great at the beginning of the season but by the end of the season, you have drawn enough heat from the earth that the loops freeze up (even with anti-freeze).
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