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Geothermal
From Appropedia
Ten feet below the surface, the temperature is a constant 50-60F year round. Instead of using a heat pump to push/pull heat out of the atmosphere, why not run Ethylene glycol through a few hundred feet of burried tubing a few feet below the ground. Air is more of an insulator than a heat conductor anyway. The technology already exists. It is relatively cheap, and very efficient (comparitively).
Technology also exists using copper tubing and refrigerant. It avoids an extra heat exchanger and is generally more efficient than the glycol systems. This is known as DX for direct expansion.
[edit] External Links
- http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=geo_heat.pr_crit_geo_heat_pumps U.S. Energy Star program information on geothermal heat pumps
- http://www.google.com/search?client=googlet&q=dx%20heat%20exchanger Google search for DX (direct expansion) heat exchanger.
- http://www.ecrtech.com/go.asp?goto=flwctrl ECR owns patents on necessary refrigerant flow control devices. The diagram on this page is illuminating.
