| SOLAR GEOTHERMY |
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There are two different ways to make this exchange:
1.- Heat exchange with superficial water
In this system, the water from a superficial source comes into thermal contact with the geothermal exchange unit. The cost is its main advantage but, on the other hand, its applicability is reduced, as it requires an available water source.
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| superficial water circuit |
2.- Heat exchange with land
It is possible to perform this exchange:
2.1 Directly, with an air heat pump:
This type of exchange is made with a closed copper circuit. The circuit is an appendix of the air heat pump. For a standard building 100 to 150 square metres of pipes are required. Its advantages are a reduced cost, a simple design and good efficiency. Its drawbacks are the possibility of a gas leakage and the need for a particular kind of soil. This sort of exchange is not used by Geòtics.
2.2 Using an auxiliary circuit independent of the air heat pump:
In this kind of system, the water’s heat (which runs through a buried group of pipes) is exchanged with the radiator heat. The advantages of this system are good efficiency and low water pressure, which avoids large temperature differences.
Traditionally, in this kind of installation, circuits can be horizontal or vertical. Geòtics has recently developed a new exchange unit: Geopanel®.
2.2.1 Horizontal circuits:
In this system, the pipes are buried horizontally at a depth of 2 metres, approximately. The surface needed is about 1,5 square metres of circuits for each square meter of housing. The surface should not be paved: it should be covered by earth or some kind of garden. It is cheaper than the vertical system but it is not recommended in zones where the price of land is expensive, since nothing can be built on the exchange unit.
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| it settles with horizontal circuit |
2.2.2 Vertical circuits or wells:
In this system, the pipe which harnesses the heat from the subsoil is vertically buried (in a U shape) in one or several wells, at 100-130 metres depth relative to the surface which has to be air conditioned.
The main advantages are that a large surface of land is not needed for its installation and that it has a better efficiency than the horizontal system. The negative points are that the cost is higher than the horizontal system and that, in some places drilling can be complicated.
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| perforation for a vertical circuit |
2.2.3 Geopanel®
In this system, a panel (composed by a circuit and a thin piece of a highly conductive material) is vertically buried in a 3 meters deep hole. The Geopanel® measures 2 square metres and between 5 and 8 Geopanels® are required to air condition a house.
Using the Geopanel, there is no need for a large surface of land for the geothermal exchange. Not to mention its high energy efficiency and economical savings: It has the best relative cost of all the exchanging units. The only negative point is that it cannot be installed on rocky land.
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| new Geopanel, desgined by Geòtics Innova SL |
A) Circuit which exchanges energy with the Earth
B) Geothermal air heat pump
C) Circuit which exchange energy with the house
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