Ground Source Heat Pumps
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TECHNOLOGY WHOSE TIME HAS COME Ground
Source Heat Pump technology is not new, but was used in the 1920's by
Albert Einstein to heat and cool his home in New Jersey. It was used sparingly in the years after his application, but
in the last 20 years has become technologically perfected and is now more
efficient and reliable than before. Hundreds
of thousands of these units have been installed nationwide and are working
successfully. The
technology has not been widely used in Utah, Colorado and the West up
until now because our abundant supply of natural gas at very reasonable
prices has yielded reasonable heating and cooling costs to homeowners.
(For years natural gas has sold at $2.00 mcf at the well head, and now is
being sold at $5 to $8 mcf in some situations.) A Ground Source Heat Pump derives its heating and cooling capability from the core temperature of the earth. This heat can be tapped by drilling holes (8 inches in diameter and 200 feet deep) into the ground. Continuous plastic pipe is inserted into the holes through which fluid (water with antifreeze added) is circulated. During the heating season the heat of the earth warms the fluid which is then circulated to the surface where a compressor extracts the heat and blows it through the home. During the cooling season, the process is reversed and the heat from the home is returned to the earth. The
average temperature of the earth at that depth is approximately 55 degrees
Fahrenheit and that is sufficient (using a compressor much like the one
used in refrigerators) to raise the temperature inside a home to any
desired comfort level, typically 70 to 75 degrees. The actual HVAC unit, which can be located in the basement or any utility space within the house looks much like any conventional furnace unit. Heat is typically delivered to the living space in the home via a conventional forced air system. It can also be used to radiantly heat floors. This technology is best suited to new construction, but can be retrofitted into existing buildings. The
efficiency of these units is such that heating and cooling costs for a
3,500 sq. ft home are approximately $20.00 per month as compared to
several hundred dollars for conventional heating and cooling.
For comparison see the attached case study. Such efficiency is due to the fact that no fossil fuels are
consumed in the process of heating and cooling the home.
The actual "heat" that is used comes directly from the
earth itself, a virtually unlimited source.
The only energy required is a minimal amount of electricity to run
small pumps which circulate fluids into the drilled holes and back to the
surface plus a small amount of energy to power the compressors within the
unit. Of
course, efficiency and reduced operating costs do not come cheaply.
Ground Source Heat Pump installations are typically double the cost
of installing conventional systems. Most
of the additional cost is due to the expense of drilling the holes in the
ground, with the actual hardware costing approximately the same as
conventional systems. However, payout of the extra cost comes quickly, typically in
three to five years, with the reduced monthly cost of operation over a
conventional system. These
systems can be used in homes, apartments, condos, commercial space, retail
space and have even been used in dairy barns in such traditionally cold
areas as the Uintah Basin (Vernal) of Utah. Additional
benefits of Ground Source Heat Pumps are numerous. They do not consume our natural resources (natural gas.)
There is no combustion inside the home.
There is no explosive gas inside the home.
There is no carbon monoxide inside the home.
There is no flue through the ceiling/roof of the home.
There is no noisy air compressor outside the home to annoy
neighbors or homeowners. There
are no pollutants released into the atmosphere. This
is not geothermal technology requiring super-heated or volcanic
temperatures such as in Yellowstone, but will work anywhere.
Except in areas of geothermal activity and other rare conditions,
the temperature of the earth remains relatively constant at depths from 10
feet to hundreds of feet below the surface. Ground
source heat pumps are not a "quick fix" to the current high cost
of heating and cooling. But
with some planning and an investment in the cost of drilling holes in the
earth, a homeowner would never again be subject to the fluctuating costs
of energy. To
compliment the Ground Source Heat Pump technology, the exterior walls of
GIFFORD PARK HOMES are constructed with concrete-filled Styrofoam forms,
much like Lego blocks, which yield an insulation value of R50 compared to
R19 in conventional walls. Ironically,
the developer, Allan R. Staker, a resident of Littleton, CO, for over 25
years, is a retired professional petroleum geologist who worked for nearly
30 years in the oil and gas industry.
He was president of a Denver based oil company for 10 years and as
such explored for and produced natural gas.
He is now extolling the virtues of a heating system, which uses no
natural gas. FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Allan
R. Staker ALSO:
www.isghpa.okstate.edu
and www.ghpc.org
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