Geothermal heating

[Scythe13]

(12 November 2012, 11:41)Lightspeed Wrote: Hi S13

Yep that's exactly what I'm looking at .

Geothermal is just heat pumping either from a vertical bore or from under the lawn. The governing factor is how much heat you can harvest at given depths....and of course we want maximum harveting capability in winter months.

Both systems heat pump manufactures quote 3 to 4X heat multiplication factors so 8 c ground temeratures will deliver 24c to 32c usable heat.

The heat exchangers consist of compressor and pump like in a refrigerator. These require power to run. The idea is that you harvest more energy from the ground than you expend in extracting it. Various sources give the sane 3 to 4.5 fold multiplier. To to rin a 6Kw system, electrical power to turn the Heat Pum would be between 2kw and 1.3Kw.

With energy prices rising thisproposition looks more and more interesting.

With a PV systen generating enough winter (15%) prower to rin the heat pump, heating becomes almost self sufficient.

System life of 20 years + is predicted.

I've got a friend that uses mirrors to redirect extra sunlight onto his solar panels. They add extra power, at no cost other than....a bit of cleaner once a month, same as you'd need to do to keep your panels running optimally.

I'd try to see whether it would be better to add more panels to your home, or get the underground heating system. Which ever would currently be more financially viable over the next 5 years, is the one I'd go for.

For me, the geothermal stuff, would be used for winter, while the panels would be a year round thing. But I don't really feel the cold, and am happy to have the windows open when the temp drops to about 9 degrees outside. I'm still happy with that.

Consider those in your house, and what they're like. My wife sleeps with heat-holder socks on, wraps herself in the bed covers, and snuggles up to me to use me as a radiator. Personally, I'll be overheating and trying to throw the bed covers off me, and that's when the temp is still pretty high, like 14-15 degrees.

With that in mind, what would benefit you, your family, and your situation more? For me, panels, for the wife, heating.

I'm just playing devils advocate and giving you a different view on the situation.