Current projects

Estacada geothermal project

This is an 11,000 sf custom home under construction near Estacada.  There are three separate water-to-air geothermal heat pump units of various sizes installed in the home.  All units are located in closet type spaces or in the garage.  The second picture in the middle is the unit located in the RV garage, about 12 feet above the ground on a shelf.  

These two units are located in different closet areas.  Unlike gas furnaces, geothermal heat pumps do not require a lot of 'breathing room' because there isn't any combustion invovled.  Consequently they can fit in to tight spaces.  Please see the Photo Gallery for more pictures of this, and other projects.

Ground loops

The three main compnents of a geothermal system are the ground loop, the heat pump and the distribution system (radiant floors or forced air).  The ground loops are the heat exchanger that extracts and rejects heat from the ground to heat and cool the building depending on the season.  The following pictures illustrate the ground loop installation process,which involves fusing high-density polyethelyne pipe together to circulate a water and environmentally friendly anit-freeze solution through the pipes.   There are three primary types of ground loops, including: horizontal, vertical and slinky.  The following pictures illustrate a slinky ground loop.

Because the ground is cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter it is possible to use the ground as a heat source in the winter, and a heat sink in the summer.  This is what makes geothermal heat pumps 3 to 5 times more efficient than a gas furnace.  There is no combustion of fossil fuels because the system is working in balance with nature. 

                                      

 
In a slinky system trenches are 150' long, 3' wide, 10' apart and 5' deep.  This prevents the loops from drawing from each other.  The pex tubing loops are fused together at temperatures of approximately 500 deg F.  This is the same tubing that the gas companies use to distribute natural gas throughout the Northwest and most of the country.  The last picture illustrates why a slinky is so efficient.  It compresses 600 linear feet of pipe in a 150 foot trench.  It maximizes the amount of pipe while minimizing the amount of required trenching.  Once the trenches are back-filled the loop field is ready for pretty much any type of landscaping.

Personal project 

This is the house that my partner and I purchased in November 2006.  It's a typical house that you might find any where in the Northwest or any other part of the country for that matter.  It's a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath with approximately 1,700 square feet of living area.

We like it but the 80% efficiency gas furnace with gas-fired water heater are not exactly 'sustainable' for reasons elaborated on in the Sustainability page.  In the future we plan to install a geo-exchange heat pump system.  Reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and moving towards becoming a net-zero energy house are the long-terms goals for us.  We also hope to install a vertical axis wind turbine and/or some solar panels in the future.

Things that we have done around the house to live more sustainably: 

• Signed up for 'green power' program through local utility.
• Started using 'solar' clothes dryer.
• Installed rain barrels for storm water retention, as well as a rain garden
• Increased attic insulation from 7 inches to 15 inches
• Replaced incandescents with CFL's 
• We have four raised beds in the back yard for vegetable gardens 
• Insulated crawl space with R-19 batts
• Installed ceiling fans to improve circulation

Until we can get motion detectors installed I'll have to drive my partner crazy by turning off the lights all the time; even when she's 'coming right back'.  I hope to install a 'green switch' in the future, which will allow us to reduce our phantom load. We compost all our fruit/vegetable scraps and recycle everything we can.   

At some point in the near future we plan to install our own geothermal heat  pump system.  Due to the size of the property and the configuration of the site, it will likely require a vertical ground loop system.  A horizontal system requires more land area than vertical, and we only have about 7500 sf.

Ultimately, the goal is to become a 'zero net-energy' house.  This is the state where we are producing as much, and preferably more energy than we are actually using.  Achieving a positive energy production/consumption balance will be very difficult because some people have an aversion to turning things off when they're not using them. 

 I hope to incorporate many other energy efficiency items in the future.  Please contact me if you would like more info.

There are two primary types of heating systems used with geo-exchange heat pumps including, forced-air and radiant floor systems.  Forced-air systems are the most common because they use standard duct work to transport conditioned air through out the home.  Radiant floor systems are much more efficient and comfortable because they actually heat the floor rather than the air.  Since warm air rises they maintain a more relatively constant temperature and they don't produce huge blasts of hot and cold air.  They do require a ventiliation system because heating the floor does not provide fresh air.  They also typically require a separate cooling system.  Geo-exchange forced air systems on  the other hand, are capable of providing both heating and cooling.  This is because they use a duct work system to distribute conditioned air.

Geo-Exchange Heat Pumps

Geo-exchange Heat Pumps work in much the same way as a refrigerator. Rather than generating heat through the combustion of fossil fuels, a heat pump merely transfers heat back and forth between the ground and the building. The earth is constantly absorbing energy from the sun so it acts as a heat sink, or repository of heat for future use. In the winter the heat pump extracts heat from the ground, and in the summer the process is reversed by rejecting heat back to the ground.

Because there is no direct consumption of fossil fuels and because it uses the equivalent of approximatey ten 90-watt light bulbs in electricity, a geo-exchange heat pump is more efficient, cost-effective and more beneficial for the environment than natural gas or oil-fired furnaces. According to the US Dept. of Energy, 40% of all CO₂ emissions come from space heating and cooling.  That's even more than auto emissions. The basic concept of geothermal heat pumps, the transfer of heat between the earth and buildings, is illustrated with the following graphic.

 
The earth is warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer than the outside air.  Transferring heat back and forth between the earth and the building is a relatively simple process, therefore you stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer with a geothermal heat pump.

We sell and install Florida Heat Pump's, from FHP Manufacturing.  FHP is the oldest heat pump manufacturer in the US. FHP only sells through an authorized dealer-certified installer network.  They do not sell directly to customers.  This ensures a quality, hassle-free installation with optimum performance, efficiency, and comfort.

In addition to geothermal heat pumps we also sell tankless water heaters, heat recovery ventilators and electric radiant floor systems.  Call us to find out how we can make your home or office more energy efficient.

Geo-exchange heat pumps provide comfortable space heating and cooling, and they can also be used to heat domestic hot water. Geo-exchange heat pumps are electrically powered systems that transfer heat back and forth between the earth and your building. The reduction in CO₂ emissions is also significant because heat pumps do not burn fossil fuels. A geo-exchange heat pump must be installed by a licensed contractor in order to qualify for energy tax credits.

Refer to the heat pump schematic below or check out the Sustainability page for more information on geo-exchange heat pumps.