central - east central Minnesota - | seedcleaner - 7/23/2012 07:04 I am going to be installing the outside plumbing soon for a new house. It is most likely going to be between 7 and 9 ton unit with the Bosch indoor equipment, also tied into the water heater. I am debating on digging the horizontal real deep with our track hoe or possibly doing vertical when we dig our deep well. With the drought the midwest is going through, can you give me an idea on how well your geotherm is doing, especially if it is the horizontal loop type. I feel the vertical is better but comes at a cost. What about digging down for the horizontal and laying sand around the pipe so it has better contact when the soil shrinks up in dry conditions? Thanks.
There are two principals that lead to a effecient loop field or vertical field . . .
1. the soil to pipe contact -
2. the temp of the soil in contact w/pipe
3. moisture in the soil (not as important as the first two)
Keep in mind, if the pipe has good soil contact and is deep enough that the soil is cooler or warmer then the top soil temp - it will work.
Moisture comes into play, more so, when one of the first two is screwed up ~
At 7 and 8ft depths, the soil temp should be 55 degrees or so year around.
Soil contact - that is why sands are not as efficent as loams/clay . . . . sands are course granular and loams/clay are fine granular particals - better for transfer of heat/cold.
Edited by iseedit 7/23/2012 09:02
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Geothermal horizontal loops in a drought?
