tapping the earth for energy - heat pump unit prices

Martin LaMonicaSue Butler decided it was time to cut off the wires for fossil fuels.
So when her aging gas stove needs to be replaced, she turns to Earth for a solution.
She installed a geothermal system.
Also known as the ground
Water source heat pump, water-
Source heat pump or geo-
Exchange system-
Recently began heating and cooling her Cambridge. home.
Butler said she was concerned for environmental reasons and about carbon monoxide from burning natural gas.
"It's not that expensive, I can manage it.
"It means no more burning, it will get buildings from carbon, it's urgent," she said . ". Ground-
Source heat pumps have been around for decades, but every year it seems to attract more homeowners and organizations who are looking for alternatives to traditional space heating and cooling.
They can be connected to existing forced hot air and hot water systems, but not to steam heat systems.
Since 2006, six floors have been installed at the nearby Harvard University --
As part of its Green Campus Initiative, the source heat pump.
The administrative building and sports facilities have been launched, and two other buildings have been planned. One real-
Real estate developer MassInnovation uses geothermal as an integral part of its ecosystem.
Themed residential and office buildings.
After being equipped with a geothermal advanced living center, it now plans to transform what used to be a large 19th-century plant into one of New England's largest geothermal facilities, according to CEO Robert ansing.
Diona Roberg said that people who use geothermal are usually either interested in geothermal because it is a clean energy technology or because they want to avoid fossil fuel prices, the director of operations for water energy distributors, the distributor distributes geothermal systems from the ClimateMaster.
"Business is out of control --
We can hardly keep up with it, "Rosberg said.
About half of customers use geothermal to reduce heating and cooling costs.
But the other half "doesn't care about the cost of it, they just want to be green," Roberg said. The family-
In the past four years, the size of its own businesses has doubled.
Strictly speaking, what is commonly referred to as a "geothermal system" is misnomer because it means taking advantage of the heat on Earth, something that has been done on a large scale to power utilities.
Geothermal energy-
Its branch enhances Geothermal
Work only in certain areas and use different technologies. (
International water boiler)(
"Vertical" ring on the ground-
Based on or open-loop ground-
Source heat pump. )
The geothermal heat pump connected to the building utilizes the stable temperature of the ground or deep wells, rather than using the underground heat.
In fact, they treat the Earth as a huge energy savings bank, storing or extracting heat according to the time of the year.
In the summer, these systems pump indoor heat to the ground and use the lower temperatures of the Earth to cool the buildings.
In the cold months, the same process is the opposite, and heat from the ground is used to heat the indoor air. Box inside
Push or drain water or work fluid, such as antifreeze, into or out of the shape heat pump on the ground.
The heat exchanger uses the same compressor circuit mechanism as the refrigerator to absorb energy from the circulating liquid to heat or cool the building.
There are many different configurations for liquid transfer circuits-
It is either a few hundred feet deep well, which is said to be the most efficient, or a coil that can only be drilled a few meters underground.
Others use water bodies like ponds as radiators.
However, regardless of the type, the ground-
The source heat pump is considered to be one of the most effective forms of heating and cooling.
The international soil Source Heat Pump Association, which is based in the dead water of Homer, said geothermal is 50% to 70% more efficient than other systems. The U. S.
The Energy Department says one ground
The source heat pump uses 25% to 50% less power than conventional heating and cooling systems.
Roberg said geothermal maintenance costs are half the cost of conventional heating and cooling systems.
She says the return on geothermal systems for the past seven years or so is now usually four years.
The recently adopted federal renewable energy incentives include a tax credit of $2,000 a year.
Despite these benefits, geothermal heating and cooling is still a relatively niche product, with about 50,000 units installed annually in the United StatesS.
According to the Department of Energy.
One of the reasons is the upfront cost.
All in all, geothermal heating and cooling devices, including pipeline engineering, will cost about 50% more than fossil fuels.
System-based, says Roberg.
Drilling is usually the biggest part of the bill, because drilling alone can cost tens of thousands of dollars. The geo-
According to Butler, it may take between $17,000 and $30,000 to replace the water pump with a home.
Experts warn that the installation of these systems is very specific to the site. -
For example, poor pipeline installation can lead to poor equipment performance.
In addition, it seems that some areas are more suitable for geothermal-
Exchange technology;
Some developers have reported that most of the year is pumping water underground, and there is little time to take out the heat, and the performance of the pump is not as good as before over time.
In the analysis of its first six geothermal systems (click for PDF)
Harvard University identified a number of installation challenges related to well design and understanding of groundwater resources.
The more subtle challenge is the status quo.
I don't know what contractor the owner of the geothermal system will install-
Not familiar with technology. will recommend.
Ansin of developer MassInnovation, while renovating an abandoned shoe factory in Mass chburg, first-hand encountered such institutional suspicions.
He's thinking about spending a big part of the budget.
About $500,000.
On standard industrial furnaces and coolers, he suggested that geothermal heat pumps might be cheaper when he stumbled upon a driller friend.
Ansin has never heard of geothermal, but once he studies it, he realizes that it could be two costs-
Valid and allows him to distinguish his buildings in a way that is not just the location.
The facility, known as Anwelt heritage apartments, is sold in the form of an eco-building
Friendly building using the ground-
Source heat pump and solar cell array.
The price of the system is about half that of traditional equipment.
Ansin said he is now part of the owner of the drilling equipment.
He passed on lower utility charges to people in 86 homes who paid less than half of their utility bills.
He is very enthusiastic about the technology, but he admits that the geothermal industry is not mature compared to the traditional heating and refrigeration business.
"Although the heat pump and geothermal space regulation have been around for some time, it is still considered a new market and, as a result, there are hardly enough contractors and engineers, he added, different contractors may need to be coordinated for installation.
"Unfortunately, before you have one --stop-
Shopping solution, it will not be as ubiquitous as possible.
"Martin LaMonica is a senior author of CNET green technology blog.
He started working in IT and Web development at CNET News in 2002.
Prior to that, he was the executive editor of The IT publication information world. E-
Email Martinlamonica@cnet.