7 ms·

I have one of those. The well is 170m deep. Took 2 guys about half a day to drill it, so that actually doesn’t seem excessive in terms of time required (mostly

I have one of those. The well is 170m deep. Took 2 guys about half a day to drill it, so that actually doesn’t seem excessive in terms of time required (mostly sand, no rock below my house).

NavinF 5y ago
I assume you mean “2 guys and some heavy equipment”? As a kid it took me a whole summer of on-and-off digging to make a 1 meter deep hole for fun.
- oliveshell 5y ago
  That’s what they mean. My neighbor had one drilled and the contractors showed up with a huge well-drilling truck. It’s just a huge vertical drill with segments you add on as it goes deeper, like an oil well drill.
  - hectormalot 5y ago
    Correct, it's big but I wouldn't say huge (maybe 4.5x2.5m). This is the machine they used: https://conrad-stanen.nl/nl/producten/boxer-200 https://conrad-stanen.nl/nl/producten/boxer-200
    - oliveshell 5y ago
      Most drills I’ve used fit in your hand. Compared to that, it’s huge :) (although on rereading I didn’t mean to say ‘huge’ twice in my previous post)
- dpark 5y ago
  Out of curiosity, what were you digging with? Unless you were digging with a toy sand shovel or making a very large hole, that seems like a very long time. As a kid, my cousin, my sister, and myself were able to dig a hole deep enough for me to be completely inside in an hour or two using a post hole digger. (Yes, this is a very stupid idea.)
  - jmacd 5y ago
    You have to make sure it's straight, drop sheathing in to the hole, and then cap it if it isn't going to be used right away. More importantly, geothermal/ground source is rarely 1 well either, in our case it was 8.
  - NavinF 5y ago
    A shovel. I couldn't get past 1m because of the rocks were too difficult to shatter.
    - dpark 5y ago
      That’s fair. We were not digging through rocks.
tinco 5y ago
Awesome! Do you sink heat into it during the summer, or do you also use it for airco?
- hectormalot 5y ago
  Sink directly into it for the summer. Heat exchanger between the source (approx 10-15C) and the water from the floor heating/cooling system. Because the heat pump is not involved it's very efficient (only the power of the well pump) I'm actually considering if it makes sense to push a lot more heat into it in the summer (Deliberately leaving curtains open, then moving this heat into the well; or even PVT panels), but I'm not sure if the well would retain heat long enough to make a difference towards the winter.
  - tinco 5y ago
    It definitely should, I'm not sure making your A/C work harder deliberately makes sense economically, I guess you'd have to do the math. PVT or even just thermal panels (i.e. rolls of garden hose painted black in a glass covered box) would make a lot of sense if you're in a colder climate though. Your system should give a an overview of your yearly input/output and any drift of the well temperature right?

I have one of those. The well is 170m deep. Took 2 guys about half a day to drill it, so that actually doesn’t seem excessive in terms of time required (mostly sand, no rock below my house).

NavinF 5y ago

I assume you mean “2 guys and some heavy equipment”? As a kid it took me a whole summer of on-and-off digging to make a 1 meter deep hole for fun.

oliveshell 5y ago
That’s what they mean. My neighbor had one drilled and the contractors showed up with a huge well-drilling truck. It’s just a huge vertical drill with segments you add on as it goes deeper, like an oil well drill.
- hectormalot 5y ago
  Correct, it's big but I wouldn't say huge (maybe 4.5x2.5m). This is the machine they used: https://conrad-stanen.nl/nl/producten/boxer-200 https://conrad-stanen.nl/nl/producten/boxer-200
  - oliveshell 5y ago
    Most drills I’ve used fit in your hand. Compared to that, it’s huge :) (although on rereading I didn’t mean to say ‘huge’ twice in my previous post)
dpark 5y ago
Out of curiosity, what were you digging with? Unless you were digging with a toy sand shovel or making a very large hole, that seems like a very long time. As a kid, my cousin, my sister, and myself were able to dig a hole deep enough for me to be completely inside in an hour or two using a post hole digger. (Yes, this is a very stupid idea.)
- jmacd 5y ago
  You have to make sure it's straight, drop sheathing in to the hole, and then cap it if it isn't going to be used right away. More importantly, geothermal/ground source is rarely 1 well either, in our case it was 8.
- NavinF 5y ago
  A shovel. I couldn't get past 1m because of the rocks were too difficult to shatter.
  - dpark 5y ago
    That’s fair. We were not digging through rocks.

tinco 5y ago

Awesome! Do you sink heat into it during the summer, or do you also use it for airco?

hectormalot 5y ago
Sink directly into it for the summer. Heat exchanger between the source (approx 10-15C) and the water from the floor heating/cooling system. Because the heat pump is not involved it's very efficient (only the power of the well pump) I'm actually considering if it makes sense to push a lot more heat into it in the summer (Deliberately leaving curtains open, then moving this heat into the well; or even PVT panels), but I'm not sure if the well would retain heat long enough to make a difference towards the winter.
- tinco 5y ago
  It definitely should, I'm not sure making your A/C work harder deliberately makes sense economically, I guess you'd have to do the math. PVT or even just thermal panels (i.e. rolls of garden hose painted black in a glass covered box) would make a lot of sense if you're in a colder climate though. Your system should give a an overview of your yearly input/output and any drift of the well temperature right?