Question:
I am working on placing underground pipes through which I will pump water in and out of an old air conditioner core in the fresh air return of my forced air furnace with the hope of precooling the air going into my airconditioning system and hopefully reduce my cooling costs. My question is how deep do i need to go to be effective? Thanks for any replies Chris
Response:
be careful of condensation and bacteria. 10′ would be sufficient in most areas for mid 50’s temperature. — Steve Spence Subscribe to the Renewable Energy Newsletter & Discussion Boards. Read about Sustainable Technology: http://www.green-trust.org
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I am working on placing underground pipes through which I will pump water > in and out of an old air conditioner core in the fresh air return of my > forced air furnace with the hope of precooling the air going into my > airconditioning system and hopefully reduce my cooling costs. My question is > how deep do i need to go to be effective? > Thanks for any replies > Chris
Response:
Chris: The answer(s) to your question depend on the type od soil conditions (rock is worst, a swamp is best), but in mid latitudes a depth of 20 to 30 inches is enough. Peter
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I am working on placing underground pipes through which I will pump water > in and out of an old air conditioner core in the fresh air return of my > forced air furnace with the hope of precooling the air going into my > airconditioning system and hopefully reduce my cooling costs. My question is > how deep do i need to go to be effective? > Thanks for any replies > Chris
Response:
Another issue would be local building and ‘environmental’ codes. It comes under the heading of ‘thermal pollution’ and I have heard of counties in southern Missouri and Illinois actually making it against building code to ‘thermally pollute the aquifer or it’s feed paths’— in other words, any dirt or rock that has rain falling on it! They supposedly citied the large number of homes using ground water (wells) for drinking and concerns about algae and bacteria growth. The only reason I have any knowledge about this whatsoever is I have relatives in southern Missouri using groundwater heat pumps and they expressed concern that they would find a way to make these type laws that were under consideration retroactive to include previous installations. BTW, they are experiencing 30 to 45% savings over neighbors using standard heat pumps and insulation. Dutch
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I am working on placing underground pipes through which I will pump water > in and out of an old air conditioner core in the fresh air return of my > forced air furnace with the hope of precooling the air going into my > airconditioning system and hopefully reduce my cooling costs. My question is > how deep do i need to go to be effective? > Thanks for any replies > Chris
Response:
geothermal heat pumps do not have to be ground water types. The most common is horizontal slinky coils 8′ below grade. — Steve Spence Subscribe to the Renewable Energy Newsletter & Discussion Boards. Read about Sustainable Technology: http://www.green-trust.org
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Another issue would be local building and ‘environmental’ codes. It comes > under the heading of ‘thermal pollution’ and I have heard of counties in > southern Missouri and Illinois actually making it against building code to > ‘thermally pollute the aquifer or it’s feed paths’— in other words, any > dirt or rock that has rain falling on it! They supposedly citied the large > number of homes using ground water (wells) for drinking and concerns about > algae and bacteria growth. The only reason I have any knowledge about this > whatsoever is I have relatives in southern Missouri using groundwater heat > pumps and they expressed concern that they would find a way to make these > type laws that were under consideration retroactive to include previous > installations. > BTW, they are experiencing 30 to 45% savings over neighbors using standard > heat pumps and insulation. > Dutch > I am working on placing underground pipes through which I will pump water > in and out of an old air conditioner core in the fresh air return of my > forced air furnace with the hope of precooling the air going into my > airconditioning system and hopefully reduce my cooling costs. My question > is > how deep do i need to go to be effective? > Thanks for any replies > Chris
Response:
The unfortunate part is that these nabobs were writing the building codes in such a way to stop any THERMAL pollution which would include the slinky pipe method. I recently got an email from a friend who was able to put a regular heat pump in an approximately 35K cu ft cave on his property that stays about 68*F (+/- ~5*F due to season). It seems that a neighbor got a hard on for him and has been calling everyone he can think of to try and stop him from using it! I will NEVER understand why so many people are such idiots! Here in wonderful west central Florida a local business was served an injunction to stop all discharge of any chemically and/or thermally polluted water into the environment. Sounds like a good idea, right? Nope–the chemically and thermally polluted water was tap water that was overflow from a cooling tower for a chilled water cooling interchange circuit on a piece of stationary equipment. Total discharge about 5 gals a day. Isn’t it nice to know that your tap water is considered chemically polluted??????
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> geothermal heat pumps do not have to be ground water types. The most common > is horizontal slinky coils 8′ below grade. > — > Steve Spence > Subscribe to the Renewable Energy Newsletter > & Discussion Boards. Read about Sustainable Technology: > http://www.green-trust.org > Another issue would be local building and ‘environmental’ codes. It comes > under the heading of ‘thermal pollution’ and I have heard of counties in > southern Missouri and Illinois actually making it against building code to > ‘thermally pollute the aquifer or it’s feed paths’— in other words, any > dirt or rock that has rain falling on it! They supposedly citied the > large > number of homes using ground water (wells) for drinking and concerns about > algae and bacteria growth. The only reason I have any knowledge about > this > whatsoever is I have relatives in southern Missouri using groundwater heat > pumps and they expressed concern that they would find a way to make these > type laws that were under consideration retroactive to include previous > installations. > BTW, they are experiencing 30 to 45% savings over neighbors using standard > heat pumps and insulation. > Dutch > > I am working on placing underground pipes through which I will pump > water > > in and out of an old air conditioner core in the fresh air return of my > > forced air furnace with the hope of precooling the air going into my > > airconditioning system and hopefully reduce my cooling costs. My > question > is > > how deep do i need to go to be effective? > > Thanks for any replies > > Chris
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