English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

For this entry, I'd like to elaborate farther on research conducted relative to my specific area of interest, that being horizontal closed-loop geothermal systems. Another source that I found very useful on this topic was...

http://www.geo4va.vt.edu/

This website, hosted by Virginia Tech, provided a wealth of information concerning the actual workings of the heat pump, as well as a basic understanding of the closed-loop system, in general. Such a system operates by providing heat transfer, from the ground source, via some sort of recirculated fluid (hence, closed loop). The most common form of piping used for this function is high-density polyethylene (HDPE). For the horizontal-laid system, piping is generally placed at a depth of 4 to 10 feet. According to this source, land requirements for this geothermal setup are typically about 1,500 to 3,000 square feet per system ton.

From this website, several additional advantages and disadvantages for the horizontal systems were provided. One advantage, not previously noted, is that installation equipment is less expensive. This is very relevent to our white paper, as we are writing directly to the contractor who is certainly concerned with this. An additional disadvantage of this system, relevent most notably to vertical closed-loop systems, is that more piping is required to obtain the same output. This is due mainly to the decreased efficiency of such a system.