Geothermal Heating & Cooling Installation | eHow

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Bert Markgraf

Bert Markgraf is a freelance writer with a strong science and engineering background. He started writing technical papers while working as an engineer in the 1980s. More recently, after starting his own business in IT, he helped organize an online community for which he wrote and edited articles as managing editor, business and economics. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from McGill University.

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The installation of geothermal heating and cooling requires an interior heat pump and outside piping to collect the heat. For water source heat pumps, water from a well is piped to the heat pump and then injected into a second well or spilled into a creek or ditch. For ground source heat pumps, a water-based antifreeze mixture is pumped through pipes buried in the ground and circulated through the heat pump. Both types of heat pump require more ducting for forced-air heating than conventional furnaces.

Calculate the size of heat pump required. If you are replacing an existing furnace, it will have a Btu rating. If it is a new installation, a survey of the heat requirements of the house must be carried out. The heat pump will have either a Btu rating or it will have a coefficient of performance (COP) and an energy input in Btu. Multiply the energy input by the COP to get the heat output. Match the heat requirements of the house as closely as possible, taking into consideration that the heat requirements of a new house increase as insulation sags and door and window seals age.

Choose a ground source or water source heat pump by looking at the possibility of drilling wells or digging long, 6-foot-deep ditches in your area. Water source heat pumps require a well which will yield about 5 gallons per minute but a second well is often required to absorb this amount of water. Wells take up little space but are usually the more expensive option.

Ground source heat pumps use pipes buried deep in the ground as a heat source. Vertical shafts as for a well are an option if there is little space and no water. The least expensive solution is usually to bury piping 6 feet deep in the ground but this requires about half an acre of land and ground which can be excavated. One of these solutions will be the least expensive and most appropriate for your project.

Drill the well or vertical shafts or bury the ground source piping as per the heat pump manufacturer's instructions. Water source heat pumps have fewer specific requirements for the water circulating in and out of the heat pump but make sure the required volume is available. The water hardness is also important to minimize scaling.

The requirements for the ground source heat pump are more particular. Manufacturers will usually specify the water based mixture, the size and type of pipe, the spacing, the depth at which it must be buried and the back-fill procedure. Most home owners use qualified installers to carry out this work.

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Geothermal Heating & Cooling Installation | eHow