Enhanced geothermal systems can provide clean energy in areas where conventional geothermal systems are not viable. This Review discusses energy production through these systems and the technological developments that could enable its future expansion.
It’s a 300-350’ down, 8" wide, cylindrical, vertical hole. From talking to him, the same guy also does wells for water.
Took them about a morning of boring with 25ft sections. 700’ of 1.25" polypipe with a soldered U joint at the bottom.
Pipe filled with a water/glycol mix.
Then the hole is backfilled with some kind of clay that acts like thermal paste.
The liquid from the loop comes back at around 7C year round. It’s much easier for a heatpump to extract heat from 7C water than from -30C air or dump heat into 7C water than into 30C air.
Anyway.
All said and done, it was somewhere around $22k (CAD) including boring, heatpump, labor and getting the old furnace and tank out.
Our old oil furnace was gonna need replacement anyway, except it now costs me about $650 a year instead of 2-3k (that was when oil was half the price it is today), and now provides us with air conditioning too. About half of my current cost is because I like having the fan on all the time to move the air around the house.
Temps around here range from -35C to +35C (-30F to 95F) and the aux heat never kicks, even on colder days, except when I force it on to test it.
I did already have the duct work.
No maintenance so far aside from cleaning filters, which you should do regardless.
No oil smells, no refilling, it just works.
Return on investment was initially planned at about 10 years, but the price of oil has gone up since, so probably less than that by now.
But mostly, the temperature is much more constant, which I find more comfortable.
300-350ft, 22k CAD.
It’s a 300-350’ down, 8" wide, cylindrical, vertical hole. From talking to him, the same guy also does wells for water.
Took them about a morning of boring with 25ft sections. 700’ of 1.25" polypipe with a soldered U joint at the bottom. Pipe filled with a water/glycol mix.
Then the hole is backfilled with some kind of clay that acts like thermal paste.
The liquid from the loop comes back at around 7C year round. It’s much easier for a heatpump to extract heat from 7C water than from -30C air or dump heat into 7C water than into 30C air.
Anyway.
All said and done, it was somewhere around $22k (CAD) including boring, heatpump, labor and getting the old furnace and tank out.
Our old oil furnace was gonna need replacement anyway, except it now costs me about $650 a year instead of 2-3k (that was when oil was half the price it is today), and now provides us with air conditioning too. About half of my current cost is because I like having the fan on all the time to move the air around the house.
Temps around here range from -35C to +35C (-30F to 95F) and the aux heat never kicks, even on colder days, except when I force it on to test it.
I did already have the duct work.
No maintenance so far aside from cleaning filters, which you should do regardless.
No oil smells, no refilling, it just works.
Return on investment was initially planned at about 10 years, but the price of oil has gone up since, so probably less than that by now.
But mostly, the temperature is much more constant, which I find more comfortable.