DIY Geothermal Heat Pump + PV System - No Heat Bills!
In this very ambitious project, Jerry goes through all the details on installing a 5000 watt PV system and a 2 ton Ground Source Heat Pump. Together they provide all of the space heating and cooling and hot water.
Thanks very much to Jerry for taking the time to document the project!
Highlights
See the pdf below for full details.
Jerry started by installing a 5000 watt PV system on his garage roof.
The PV system is grid tied and uses an Aurora 6000 watt grid tie inverter to produce house power and interface with the grid. Jerry is paid 14 cents per KWH generated via the net metering agreement with his utility and is also able to sell SRECs to the utility to allow them to meet their renewable energy generation requirements with the state of NJ.
Once the PV system was installed, Jerry installed a Ground Source Heat Pump to efficiently use the PV generated electricity to both heat and cool his house. The GSHP installation involved digging a 300 ft long 8 ft deep trench, laying out the ground loops in the trench, installing the 2 ton heat pump, and designing and installing a full forced air duct system in the house to distribute the heating and cooling.
Laying out the ground loops in the 300 ft trench.
The 2 ton ClimateMaster heat pump installation
Please bear in mind that this is not a simple or easy project to take on -- it is one of the most ambitious projects on Build It Solar. These are Jerry's introductory words:
I’d like to start off by saying that this is not a simple DIY project. It is a lot of work both mentally and physically. I spent countless hours on the internet researching to make sure that after the investment in time and money I would have a fully functioning reliable and well designed system. I don’t want to discourage anyone from trying something like this but you really have to love doing it to see it through to the end. I love challenges and I love doing as much as I can all by myself. It can be done I did it.
Laying out the ground loops in the 300 ft trench.