English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

This document summarized the information found at http://www.geo4va.vt.edu/A2/A2.htm. This site is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s State Energy Program through the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy.

I think this site is going to be incredibly valuable for researching heat pumps for our white paper project. The information on this website can more than likely be considered credible since it is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Not only does it provide information on my research area, direct exchange heat pumps, but has information for many different kinds. This site outlines many different types of heat pumps, along with advantages and disadvantaged of each. It lays out very specifically the requirements for each type and the locations that they can be used. This will help the reader understand how each heat pump works and differs from each other, which is the goal of the white paper. With this information, the audience will be able to choose a heat pump that meets their expectations. This site also contains a great deal of images and diagrams to explain the functioning and design of the various heat pumps. A problem I noticed with some of the graphics is that they don’t have a great deal of resolution.

Along with all the information, it has a section on installing the different heat pumps. Since our audience is going to be contractors, this is a very important section to include in our white paper. The site outlines some of the equipment needed, effects of soil conditions, and some warnings tips about installation. It also included actual pictures of heat pumps being installed