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Is there any way to combine a ground source heat pump with a well?
by voisin 4y ago
Is there any way to combine a ground source heat pump with a well?
- bombcar 4y agoSome of them are basically multiple bidirectional wells (when installed vertically in a colder climate) so drilling one more for a wellhead is probably possible.
- voisin 4y agoI've got wells on my property. Rather than drill more wells, I am wondering if there's something that could be put in the well to utilize the stable water temperature down below to heat exchange? Seems like there would be a big market - lots of people on wells are heating with oil or propane or electricity at massive costs.
- bombcar 4y agoIt would depend on the well and the “heat availability” (not a technical term) and how deep it was. I suspect it could work but it’d be marginal enough as not to be worth it compared to straight air heat pump or an actual field (similarity could a heat field and a septic field be installed at the same time ,,,)
- voisin 4y agoI understood, perhaps incorrectly, that the ground below the frost line is stable year round and if air source heat pumps work more efficiently down to -10C, we know the water isn’t that cold (otherwise it would be ice), so wondering if the efficiency threshold is the same for ground source heat pumps?
- bombcar 4y agoThat's why the ground ones are dug vertically sometimes, they can get to stable temperatures. However, a well may be "just poking" into that territory so you get the right temperature, but not enough surface area to do much heating/cooling.
- timbit42 4y agoAbsolutely but typically two wells, one to pull water from and one to put the cooled water down. You also need a minimum amount of water flow, depending on the unit and how much heat your home needs. They're considered better than air-to-air heat pumps which become less efficient as the outside temperature goes down. Ground source units remain efficient in cold weather as the water in the well is below the frost line (only the top few feet of the soil freezes). They cost four or five times more than a typical air-to-air unit though so aren't as common.