help on existing geothermal heat pump

20 years ago

I have an existing Ruud 3.5 ton, open loop geothermal heat pump that is now pushing 38 years old. I live in North Florida. The house is about 3000sf.

Although I like the idea of keeping a system that old going, our bills have been creeping up (5000kwh last month!!!) and it seems like we should consider replacing the syatem. I like the idea of the Envision by WaterFurnace .... but have no clue as to the cost. My questions are:

1. As I have an existing well and pump should I select a new system that works with it, or look at a DX? I am inclined to keep the pump if practical, as I suspect that the DX would involve heafty sprinkler/landscape/paver destruction ($$) to put in, although I do have an unused side yard.

2. If I keep the existing well and pump, how can I tell what the correct GPM performance should be to support a new system?

3. If the GPM is not high enough .... do I just swap out the pump to a higher capacity model, or is it more complicated than that?

As an aside, I am replacing all of our lighting with CFL and LED, and installing a 5kw solar electric system.

Andy

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Comments (3)

bob_brown
20 years ago
Hello,
Maybe you need to tighten your system up a little. If it worked for 38 years, what was the kw consumption over the years? If the same, then maybe a little tweaking can be done? Using CF instead of incadescent should same considerable, depending on your habits of leaving on lamps.

Contact WF for a local rep. The equipment is kinda expensive? KISS. If it worked before, find out what changed.
fsq4cw
20 years ago
Seeing as you already have a well, your least expensive route (aside from fixing your existing GSHP) would be another open loop GSHP.

Let the installer worry about the well pump etc., but can your well still supply all the water you need? You will also need to know the water temperature as well (should be in the 70Âs in Florida). You may be able to find the specs on GPM required on the web anyway by downloading the installation manual of the equipment youÂre considering.

SR

Here is a link that might be useful: how-efficient-is-it-magazine.com
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barrybud
19 years ago
Consider a system that doesn't use water. "This system uses copper tubes placed deep within the ground to utilize the constant temperature of the earth as a source or sink of heat to be transferred to a circulating refrigerant."
About a 10 or 12 foot circle is disturbed on your property and a narrow trench to run the lines to your house. We have the compressor unit in our basement and it doesn't make as much noise as our old oil burner. We also added the hot water option.
The cost of heating oil as high as its been is cutting down the payback time

Here is a link that might be useful: Advanced Geothermal