Ground Loops in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Geothermal Applications

You’ve finally gotten, or are considering getting, a a new heating and cooling system. Maybe you’re weighing the advantages of a new Geothermal HVAC. If so, you undoubtedly want to know a little bit more about how geothermal works.

Geothermal HVACs variously cool and heat your home by extracting ground temperature. This is possible because of an underground system called a geothermal ground loop.

Ground loops are,in essence, just an underground pipe system. There are various basic kinds of these systems that can be used for heating and cooling most residential and commercial buildings.

It works when antifreeze fluid flows through the pipes to transfer heat effectively and efficiently down to a heat pump in your house.

There exist four different types of loops: Open Loop, Pond Loop, Horizontal Loop and Vertical Loop. These are divvied up into two categories categories: either they’re open loop systems or closed loop systems. The best system for your house is dependent on the building and its surroundings. Home systems mostly use vertical or horizontal loops.

Below are further explanations of each kind of ground loop.

Closed systems, which consist of vertical, horizontal, and pond loops, continuously push water through them.

Vertical ground loops are used commonly in residences because, unlike horizontal loops, they don’t take up a significant amount of space. They’re positioned by drilling tight-diameter holes in the ground to a depth of 100-400 feet. Then pipes are driven into the holes and connected below the ground to form the vertical loop. Next, extra pipes are attached that convey fluid to the indoor system to transfer the necessary temperature from the ground.

A horizontal system takes up significantly more space but is actually less costly since it uses only 2 straight pipes inserted 6 inches in the earth in an area of ¼ to ¾ acre.

In order to make use of a pond loop system, it should be evident that you must be near a pond, lake, pond, or well. Coils are installed vertically and attached to the bottom of the water source. Water is then moved through more pipes underground to a pump, where the heat is drawn out and cool water is returned to the pond. Still, in order for this system to work, the water can not be acidic or else pipes will erode and filters will need replacing often.

The prime difference between open and closed looped systems is the open loop’s need for a plentiful source of groundwater, a well or a pond, for instance. From there, it directly pumps water into the heat pump unit to be used in heating and cooling your dwelling or other structure.

There are two ways to dispose of used water: through surface drainage or water re-injection. In returning the water back to the earth, it’s worth mentioning that there is no pollution generated. The only difference in water that’s processed through a geothermal heat pump is a negligible change in temperature.