The Process
Residential
From Initial contact with our customer we at Geothermal Heating and Cooling Australia will be happy to discuss the technology of ground source heat pumps with you. We will explain to you all the benefits of Geoexchange and why you should take up Geothermal in your home
The next step will be Design Process discussion, Geothermal Heating and Cooling Australia will want to understand the client’s needs and wants, we will explain the design process, make sure the client understands the design process. Geothermal Heating and Cooling Australia will design a scope of works for the design process
The Design Process
Geothermal Design
There are 2 parts to the geothermal design process
Designing what’s inside the building being the heat pumps themselves and designing what is outside which is the Geothermal Ground connection. The Geothermal design process can be quite an involved process, it is so important to get this design done right so to optimise the system so it maximises your best return on investment and also so that it is designed properly so that it works properly
Geothermal design inside building- Heat load Calculations
The Design process involves our certified Geothermal Design Engineer calculating the heating and cooling loads of the Building, this design takes into consideration the insulation properties of the house, for example wall, cavity and ceiling insulation, glazing, ceiling fans, natural draughts and any existing or future space conditioning factors. We take into consideration what type of distribution systems will be installed, Hydronics for in-slab heating/ cooling or ducted or both, we also take into consideration the zoning requirements, this can mean halving the size of the heat pumps required and in turn making the ground loop requirement smaller, this information that is required can be found on our checklist
Please take into consideration when designing your house to make it as insulated as possible with a High R-Value, the more insulated your home is the higher the R-Value. The higher the R- value the smaller the heat load, the smaller the heat load the smaller the pump and the smaller the ground loop required,
The smaller the ground loop and smaller heat pump = smaller installation costs, lower ongoing energy use and running costs = cost and energy savings
Geothermal design outside the building- The Ground connection, ground loop design
It is very important to have your ground connection designed and optimised by a certified geothermal design engineer. There are a number of different ground loop types the 2 main types are open loop and closed loop, with closed loop systems there are a number of variations
Design and optimization of ground loop
GHCA are experts at designing and optimization of geothermal ground loop installations, when designing the ground we take into consideration these factors from our checklist
See the links below to the different geothermal loop types explained
Open Loop
Open loop geothermal is where water is pumped from an aquifer
Closed Loop
- Closed Loop Horizontal
- Closed Loop Vertical
- Closed Loop Pond, Lake, Ocean, River
Geothermal Heating and Cooling Australia would love to work with you to have a system designed and installed in your home
There are fees for the design of your residential geothermal system this is an investment as it will de-risk the project, provide good drawings and information for our installers and yourself
So How do we start ?
- An initial meeting with GHCA and the client to discuss the technology and the clients wants and needs
- Heat load calculations
- Sizing and optimization of equipment, choosing the best equipment to suit your project, we are not held to one supplier and have a number of different products to choose from
- Design and optimization of ground loop
- Payback, ROI, energy and CO2 saving analysis
- Budget estimate and or quotation for your home
The First step is to download the design application form, we then Invoice the client for design, depending on our work load a geothermal design for a domestic house is usually completed within a week payment can be made by cheque, Electronic Funds Transfer or Credit Card. Once payment is received we will start on the design and optimization of your project straight away
Please download the application form here
or download our residential brochure here
For an Additional cost our in house engineers can do detailed design and drawings of the ducting and Hydronic underfloor heating and Heat Pump set up
Click here to go to our Geothermal Commercial Design information page or Contact us for more information