During the summer, solar heat is stored in the soil. This is either directly absorbed as insulation or as heat from rain and the air from the near-surface layer of the soil. Using this energy for heating is a cost-effective method.
Nibe Geothermal Heatpumps
Green-house recommend Nibe Heatpumps when installing a Geothermal system. In our opinion they are the very best Geothermal system available on the market. They also have made fridge style heatpump indoor units such as the F1245 & F1145 .that are aesthetically pleasing and would not look out of place in any kitchen or utility.
Nibe Heatpumps also have excellent user friendly controls positioned on the front of the unit and a very useful web enabled service called “Nibe Uplink” allowing the homeowner and installer to follow the Heatpump at all times.
Geothermal Heatpumps collect their heat usually from either a Borehole / Vertical collector or Horizontal Collector
Vertical Collector
During the summer, solar heat is stored in the soil. This is either directly absorbed as insulation or as heat from rain and the air from the near-surface layer of the soil. Using this energy for heating is a cost effective method. The highest yield can be obtained from soil with high water content.
The heat is extracted from the soil by means of buried plastic tubing. An environmentally-friendly, non-freezing emulsion of water- and glycol circulates in the tubing. The soil above the earth collector may not be sealed off under any circumstances, i.e. by buildings, asphalt or concrete.
Earth collectors do not require a permit. Installation depth is approx. 20 cm below the local frost line.
Ground Probe Collector / Borehole Collector
In the lower subsoil of the so-called “near-surface geothermal layer” lies a heat source that can be utilized all year long, which has an almost constant temperature. It can be used for every possible building type, large or small, public or private.
Depending on the region it is also referred to as, “vertical absorption, ground spit or ground lance”. It requires little space and the ground probe can be drilled on the smallest of plots. Therefore it is ideal for refurbishment or adaptation from a heating system fuelled by fossil fuels to the use of geothermal energy. As with a surface collector a mixture of water-glycol circulates in a closed circuit (similar to the cooling system of a car).
Depending on the necessary size of the heat pump unit a specialized company ascertains the depth and amount of bore holes in which the u-shaped plastic tubing is installed and pressed, in order to achieve good heat transfer.
