Geothermal Loop Fields

A geothermal heat pump system is comprised of two components, a loop field, and a heat pump. The heat pump is placed inside everyone’s house and is responsible for the heat exchange. The loop field is the process of piping that is placed underground in your yard. The loop fields last for around 50+ years long. The geothermal loop fields vary according to the climate, location of your house, and size of your house. Generally, the loop field is responsible for about half of your heat pump’s cost. Loop fields can be placed vertically or horizontally. The way in which the pipe is inserted in the ground, the loop field’s orientation changes. The loop field is placed in a way in which they all work efficiently. The orientation of the loop would depend totally upon the available space, contractor’s preference, and ground conditions.

3 types of Geothermal loop fields: horizontal, vertical, and pond.

Geothermal Loop Fields:

Horizontal loop fields

As mentioned above, the orientation of the geothermal loop field would depend upon the space and ground conditions of your house. A horizontal loop field installation usually occurs in a place where yards have lots of space or in rural areas. The horizontal loop field installation requires a large land area as the backhoe is used to dig up long dugouts which are a few feet deep. Provided the dig must be below the frost line. The horizontal loops can be less costly compared to the vertical loop fields in some of the cases as there would be no drilling costs. The horizontal loop field must be installed using an excavator or other machines which are ground moving. This loop field can be installed in a day or two.

Geothermal Vertical loop fields (Earth River Geothermal installs vertical geothermal loop fields)

A vertical loop field is the most commonly used installation system for a geothermal pump system. The geothermal heat pumps installed on a smaller property require a Vertical loop field. During the installation of the vertical loop system, a series of holes are drilled each between 50 to 400 feet down. The piping is then fed down the holes and connected in a loop pattern. After all the pipes are connected in a loop pattern outside your home, they are threaded inside your home and connected to the attached geothermal heat pump unit. This process also takes the same time for installation as the horizontal installment of about 1-2 days. Earth River Geothermal, Inc. installs vertical geothermal loop fields to maximize clients’ geothermal heating and cooling systems’ efficiency.

Geothermal Pond loop fields

The pond loop field installation is done when a house is situated near a huge body of freshwaters such as ponds or lakes. The trenches which measure to around only a few feet deep are dug from the house to a lake or a pond. These trenches are filled with pipes. Then these pipes are connected to the coils that are laid at the bottom of the lake or pond. These coils are also called “slinkies”, which utilize the temperature at the bottom of the pond or lake. The slinkies help to heat and cool the home just like and vertical or horizontal loop field.