View Single Post
Old 09-27-14, 03:19 PM   #7
AC_Hacker
Supreme EcoRenovator
 
AC_Hacker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 4,004
Thanks: 303
Thanked 723 Times in 534 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ormston View Post
GSHP manufacturers usually require glycol in the ground loop to protect against freezing the evaporator HX (controller usually shuts down at -5 to -10C), it's quite normal for the water being returned to the ground loop to be sub zero.

Steve
But that does mean that you are freezing the ground. Of course there will be a significant amount of heat at that point because of the release of change-of-state heat.

But this will impede the ingress of ground water and all the lovely effects that the paper outlines.

ALSO... If you are circulating sub-zero water around your foundation, are you not freezing it, and exposing it to ground heaves, and cracking??

To say nothing of the foundation becoming a 'super sponge', thermally speaking.

-AC
__________________
I'm not an HVAC technician. In fact, I'm barely even a hacker...
AC_Hacker is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to AC_Hacker For This Useful Post:
buffalobillpatrick (09-28-14)