Monday, December 8, 2008

The warm earth

We installed a geothermal heatpump this year to replace 2 16 year old and 1 5 year old traditional heatpumps. I took on the task of doing the installation mostly because I'm cheap and a little because I wanted to see if I could make it work. It turned out to be a vastly more complex task than I anticipated.

The problem solving I had to go through to make the system work was, in fact, just the education I needed to know what I am dealing with. It's a monstrous beast, extending 4200 feet of pipe into the yard 6 feet underground, piping refrigerant from the attic to the basement and into the garage, followed by wiring for thermostats, power, backup heat, and the unit itself. I still have to hook up the hot water, whereby my water supply for the hot water heater will be pre-heated to around 100 degrees by my new system.

I still marvel at the technology. During these past few days of 20-30 degree weather, my new system is faithfully sucking 55 degree water from the ground, stealing its heat, and returning it to the ground to be rewarmed by the earth. I fell a little better about mowing this patch of ground now, knowing that the soft green grass is actually a cover for an engine that warms the bedrooms of my home.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Alexandra asked me what you and Richard talked about for that long dinner... I will have to direct her over here.