Ground Loops in Pine County, Minnesota, Geothermal Applications

You’ve finally gotten, or are thinking about getting, a a new heating and cooling system. Maybe you’re weighing the advantages of a new Geothermal HVAC. Whatever the circumstances, you probably want to know a little more about how geothermal works.

Geothermal HVACs variously cool and heat your home by extracting ground temperature. This is possible because of an underground system called a geothermal ground loop.

Ground loops are pretty much just an underground pipe system. A few basic types of geothermal loop systems are used for heating and cooling most residential and commercial buildings.

It works when antifreeze fluid flows through these plastic pipes to transfer heat quickly and efficiently down to a heat pump in your house.

There exist four different types of ground loops: Open Loop, Pond Loop, Horizontal Loop and Vertical Loop. These are divvied up into two categories categories: either they’re open loop systems or closed loop systems. The appropriate system for your home is contingent on the building and its environment. Residential systems mostly use vertical or horizontal loops.

Below are more specifics on each type of ground loop.

Closed systems, which consist of vertical, horizontal, and pond loops, continuously move water through them.

Vertical ground loops are the most common type used residentially because, unlike horizontal loops, they don’t take up a lot of space. They’re set in place by drilling small-diameter holes in the ground that go 100-400 feet deep. Then pipes are placed into the holes and connected below ground to form the vertical loop. Next, more pipes are attached that channel fluid to the indoor system to transfer the needed temperature from the ground.

In contrast to a vertical loop system, a horizontal system needs much more space but is usually not as costly since it uses only 2 straight pipes set 6 inches underground in an area of ¼ to ¾ acre.

If you’re thinking of getting a pond loop system, you plainly must be near a pond, lake, pond, or well. Coils are installed vertically and anchored to the bottom of the water source. Water is then transported through more pipes beneath the earth to a pump, where the heat is extracted and cool water is put back into the pond. Nevertheless, in order for this system to work, the water must not be acidic or else pipes will decay and filters will need replacing often.

The primary difference between open and closed looped systems is the open loop’s need for an ample source of groundwater, like a well or pond. From there, it directly pumps water into the heat pump unit to be used in heating and cooling your home or other structure.

Typically, used water is taken care off in either of these ways: through surface drainage or water re-injection. In returning the water back to the earth, it must be pointed out that there is no pollution generated. The only difference in water that’s processed through a geothermal heat pump is a negligible change in temperature.