For a while now, one of our forum members, AC Hacker has been working on a DIY solution for a ground source heat pump, or what he likes to call his Homemade Heat Pump Manifesto. Yes, a DIY solution for those incredibly efficient and incredibly pricey heating and cooling systems. He has been making some great progress, so I thought it would be a good thing to share with our blog readers that don’t always make it over to the forums.
AC Hacker started out making the smaller prototype unit (pictured above) to see if it was all possible. This small unit actually turned out to be pretty efficient. The initial calculations showed the prototype running over 400%. Heat pumps are capable of exceeding 100% efficiency since you aren’t creating heat, you are simply moving it from one place to another.
With the prototype being a success, he started planning for a full size system for his house. He believes he can put an entire system together for under $2000! Commercially installed systems start at $15,000 and go up from there.
There is a lot to this project, and we’ll be covering it as progress is made. If you really want to jump into it you can check out AC Hacker’s forum thread here.
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I could give my home up for testing. It is here in The hotest spot in the US PHOENIX, AZ. If it will work well here there should be a big market for it along side of a solar install!!!!!!