The fun project of Summer 2007 has been the replacement of the existing heat pumps with GSHP.
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Background
I've been tracking Ground Source Heat Pump technology for many years and finally have found the time and opportunity to act. I noticed a disturbance in the force of my temperature graphs. In particular, the freon lines one of the two heat pumps has shown a reduced temperature differential. Knowing that the systems were 20+ years old and seizing the opportunity to buy some new technology, I decided to replace them. The original system is dual fuel with oil heat and a tradition air source heat pump. The new system will also utilize fuel oil for emergency heat, but most of the heating and cooling with be provided via GSHP.
The house is divided into two zones. The first zone supports the north side of the house which is bedrooms and baths. The second zone covers the living room, dining room, family room, kitchen and mud room. The second zone is slightly larger than the first zone and has a higher HVAC load because of lots of glass area and the family room’s cathedral ceiling. Each zone has its own separate furnace and heat pump combined unit.
Oil Furnace
The main units are conventional oil furnaces with a top mounted coil for heat-pump operation.
GSHP Units
The GSHP units are Envision “split” units manufactured by Waterfurnace. The units are on the floor along an adjacent wall.
Loop
The system uses a vertical closed-loop design consisting of four 300 ft wells. Each GSHP units is supplied by two of the wells.
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