RAUGEOTM

PEXa GROUND LOOP HEAT EXCHANGE SYSTEM

Construction Automotive Industry

RAUGEO SYSTEM
OUTLINE

- Geothermal overview - Terminology - Benefits - HDPE piping systems - RAUGEO system components - PEXa ground loop pipe - Fittings - Manifolds - System sizing typical outputs - Reference projects - Regulations

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GEOTHERMAL OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION

Ground source heat pumps are - self-contained, electrically-powered systems that take advantage of the Earths relatively constant, moderate ground temperature to provide heating, cooling, and domestic hot water more efficiently and less expensively than would be possible though other conventional heating and cooling technologies. IGSHPA*

*International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA) www.igshpa.org

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GEOTHERMAL INTRODUCTION
TERMINOLOGY

Definitions: - Geo (Earth) thermal (heat) - Ground source a.k.a. geothermal - Geoexchange is also used Units: - BTU (British Thermal Unit) - Heat energy required to raise 1 pound of water 1 Fahrenheit - Ton - 1 Ton = 12,000 BTU/hr - 1 Ton = 3.51 kW kW (kiloWatt) - 1 kW = 3,413 BTU

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GEOTHERMAL INTRODUCTION
TYPES

Ground source heat pump system types: - Direct exchange

- A direct exchange (DX) geothermal heat pump system is a geothermal heat pump system in which the refrigerant circulates through copper tubing placed in the ground. The refrigerant exchanges heat directly with the soil through the walls of the copper tubing. This eliminates the plastic water pipe and water pump to circulate water found in a water-source geothermal heat pump.

- Open loop - Also known as pump and dump - Closed loop - Vertical wells - Horizontal trenches - Pond loops - Thermal piles (storage)

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GEOTHERMAL INTRODUCTION
TYPES

Ground source heat pump systems: - Closed loop - Vertical wells - Horizontal trenches Closed-loop ground source heat pump system elements: - Ground connection - Ground loop a.k.a. the Ground heat exchanger a.k.a. GHEX - Grout - Antifreeze/water (fluid) - Heat pump and controls - Pumping systems - Indoor distribution

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GEOTHERMAL INTRODUCTION
TAPPING THE EARTHS STORED ENERGY

From where does the energy come? - The Earth's core? - Radioactive decay - This heat energy is very deep, more than 1 km

- The sun -Insolation impacts the outer crust - Vast majority of thermal energy in the top 500 feet of the Earth is from the Sun

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GEOTHERMAL INTRODUCTION
TAPPING THE EARTHS STORED ENERGY

Energy source: - Heat is continually supplied to the ground in the form of solar energy - Approximately 50% of the Suns energy is absorbed by the Earth - At a depth of approximately 15 feet the ground temperature remains fairly constant (per location), with a mean annual Earth temperature of 42-77F (depending on latitude)

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GEOTHERMAL INTRODUCTION
GROUND SOURCE HEAT PUMP HOW DOES IT WORK? Principles: - A geothermal system does not directly burn fossil fuel - Electricity is used for circulator pumps and compressor - A geothermal system can be used to heat or cool a space - When heating, a geothermal system collects and concentrates heat from the ground and delivers it to the building - When cooling, a geothermal system collects and concentrates heat from the building and delivers it to the ground - The ground acts like a heat battery - The piping ground loop is like the battery cables
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Heat pump in winter

Heat pump in summer

GEOTHERMAL INTRODUCTION
CONFIGURATIONS: CLOSED LOOP

Vertical Wells
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Horizontal Trenches

GEOTHERMAL INTRODUCTION
ENERGY SAVINGS COP = COEFFICIENT OF PERFORMANCE Energy Source Electrical Resistance Propane (boiler) Fuel Oil (boiler) Natural Gas (condensing boiler) Geothermal heat pump COP 1.00 0.88 0.85 0.93 4.0 COP = Total energy delivered Energy purchased

Example: - A geothermal system which delivers 4 kW of heat for every 1 kW of energy purchased (for circulators and the compressor) has a Coefficient of Performance of 4.0/1.0 = 4.0 - Some systems deliver COP even greater than 5.0

COP is analogous to Efficiency

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GEOTHERMAL SYSTEM COMPONENTS

BASIC COMPONENTS OF WATER-TO-WATER AND WATER-TO-AIR GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS

1 2 3 4

Ground Loop (vertical) Heat Pump Radiant Heat Distribution Forced Air Distribution

4 3 2

1
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SYSTEM COMPONENTS
GROUND LOOP PIPES POLYETHYLENE PIPES WITH FUSED U-BEND Fusion-welded HDPE single U-bend: - High Density PolyEthylene - 3/4, 1, 1 1/4 pipes - CTS or IPS dimensions - Fused joints, in field or factory - Two pipes in a bore hole (one loop) - Field joints may be butt-fused (pipe-topipe) or socket-fused (pipe-to-fitting)

Socket fusion HDPE connection

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SYSTEM COMPONENTS
GROUND LOOP PIPES POLYETHYLENE PIPES WITH FUSED U-BEND Fusion-welded HDPE single U-bend: - Joints may be butt-fused (fitting-to-fitting) or socket-fused (pipes-to-fittings)

Butt and socket fusion HDPE U-bend connection

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SYSTEM COMPONENTS
HDPE BUTT FUSION TECHNOLOGY

How to join these pipes? - Pipes must be connected in some sort of header - Fusion becomes more of a challenge in wet, cold conditions - Typical trench conditions following rain or reaching the water table

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SYSTEM COMPONENTS
TRADITIONAL HDPE MANIFOLDS

Reverse return piping arrangement: - Field assembled manifolds of fused HDPE tees and pipes - Headers need to step-up and step-down to force the fluid flow to be equal to all wells - Larger diameter header pipes are costly and require extra fusion equipment - Each piped U-bend must be within 5% length of one-another to avoid short circuits - Pressure drop can become an issue - Purging is a challenge, requiring high velocity through purge carts, lots of water and time

Heat Pump Flow Center

Example of step-up, step-down reverse return header with a four-well vertical system
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SYSTEM COMPONENTS
TRADITIONAL HDPE MANIFOLDS

HDPE Close Manifold: - Field assembled manifolds of fused HDPE tees - Reducing tees need to step-up or step-down - Each piped U-bend must be within 5% length of each other to avoid short circuits - Purging is a challenge, requiring high velocity through purge carts, lots of water and time

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RAUGEO GROUND SOURCE HEAT EXCHANGE SYSTEM

BASIC SYSTEM COMPONENTS OF REHAU SYSTEM

RAUPEX cross-linked polyethylene - Radiant heating/cooling in the building PRO-BALANCE manifold - Connection to ground source pipes - Increased control of flow - Ease of installation - Ease of operation RAUGEO pipe in wells or ground loop - System security - Ease of installation - Savings EVERLOC fittings - Easy to install, secure
3

2 4 3

RAUGEO Double U-bend assembly

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PEXa PIPE CAPABILITIES

ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS CRACK RESISTANCE RESISTANCE TO IMPACT, SLOW CRACK GROWTH, ROCK IMPINGEMENT, SCRATCHES PEXa has high impact resistance: - More flexible than other piping materials - Will not crush, kink or collapse when proper backfill techniques are used - Superior notch resistance - Will not dent or crush from typical impacts - Native backfill is usually allowed, no sand
Note: Clay is not recommended backfill due to shrinkage

PEXa pipe in rocky native soil

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RAUGEO GROUND LOOP PIPES

HORIZONTAL APPLICATIONS: RAUGEO COLLECT

Pipe dimensions: - 3/4, 1 and 1 1/4 Inch Copper Tube Size - PEXa, grey UV Shield - Inside Diameter: 0.681 Inch - Outside Diameter: 0.875 Inch - Boxed in coil lengths 300 - 800 ft depending on size - Used for field systems

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RAUGEO GROUND LOOP PIPES

VERTICAL APPLICATIONS: SINGLE AND DOUBLE U-BENDS, CONTINUOUS U-BENDS WITHOUT JOINTS U-bend packaging: - Delivered on pallets as individual coils

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SYSTEM SIZING
CONFIGURATIONS: HORIZONTAL FIELD

Commonly used in residential applications Sometimes used in commercial applications where space allows Approximately 300 - 400 ft. of trench (600 - 800 ft. of pipe) per ton of energy required Variations in trench layout are acceptable

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SYSTEM SIZING
CONFIGURATIONS: VERTICAL BOREHOLES

- Commonly used in commercial applications or wherever where space is limited - Approximately 200 ft. of borehole per ton of energy required. This varies across the country with different soil types, water tables, etc. - Typical sizing is 1.5 tons per 300 feet well depth

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RAUGEO GROUND LOOP HEAT EXCHANGE SYSTEM

REFERENCE PROJECTS

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