A community in Massachusetts is about to become one of the first in the U.S. to be heated with geothermal, or ground source heat pumps, that are connected to each other.
Ground source heat pump, with a shared ground loop.
A standard air source heat pump moves heat between outside and inside, like an air conditioner. One of the challenges is when there’s a large difference in temperature between what exists outside vs what you want inside. Adjusting for that can lose a lot of efficiency, and require more advanced tech
However, underground is much more moderate and consistent a temperature year round. A ground source heat pump moves heat between underground and inside. It’s much more efficient, and you can use a smaller, lower tech heat pump to save even more money.
The downside of ground source heat pumps is the huge installation cost of drilling that well or laying that pipe below the frost line. So, it looks like they’re installing a common ground loop so the neighborhood can share the installation costs, then everyone can use the most efficient heat pumps. This seems like a great idea!
Ground source heat pump, with a shared ground loop.
A standard air source heat pump moves heat between outside and inside, like an air conditioner. One of the challenges is when there’s a large difference in temperature between what exists outside vs what you want inside. Adjusting for that can lose a lot of efficiency, and require more advanced tech
However, underground is much more moderate and consistent a temperature year round. A ground source heat pump moves heat between underground and inside. It’s much more efficient, and you can use a smaller, lower tech heat pump to save even more money.
The downside of ground source heat pumps is the huge installation cost of drilling that well or laying that pipe below the frost line. So, it looks like they’re installing a common ground loop so the neighborhood can share the installation costs, then everyone can use the most efficient heat pumps. This seems like a great idea!