From the Greek word “geo” for “earth”, geothermal heating and cooling is generated by the natural process of heat gravitating toward cooler temperatures. The by-product can be captured and utilized to heat and cool your Seattle home.
Closed Loops
Systems using water or anti-freeze that run from the pump into the ground and back to the pump continuously are closed loops. Most efficient for smaller residential systems where land is available, two or three horizontal loops are side by side just a few feet underground. Sometimes the loops are spiraled underground to extend the overall length in a shorter area.
Where the need for length may be prohibitive to run alongside the building, some people use vertical systems. A series of holes four inches in diameter are drilled about 20 feet apart and 100–400 feet deep and filled with two pipes connected at the bottom to form a loop. Each loop is connected with a horizontal manifold pipe in a trench which connects to the heat pump in the building. Vertical loops are also the choice when the soil is too shallow for trenching. This system minimizes the disturbance to existing landscaping.
If the site has an adequate water body, a pond/lake loop may be the lowest cost option where a supply line is run underground directly to the water and coiled into circles at least eight feet under the surface to prevent freezing before looping back to the building.
Open Loops
An open loop system takes surface water or a well to use as the heat exchange fluid that circulates directly through the GHP system instead of a piped fluid passing through the surface. Once circulated through the system, the water returns to the ground through the well or a discharge over the surface.
To figure out what type of geothermal loop system is best for your Seattle home, give G & S a call today!
