ᐅ Draining heat pump condensate on poor soil conditions

Hello everyone,

I have built a single-family house with an air-water heat pump. The heat exchanger is a wall-mounted unit. The house was constructed on a pile foundation because the soil was not load-bearing enough. Additionally, it is very clayey and therefore has poor water absorption capacity.

Now I am considering how to manage the condensate water under these conditions. Unfortunately, there is no downpipe on this corner or side of the house to which I could connect the drainage.

At the moment, I am leaning towards creating a gravel soakaway, despite the poor soil. The amount of condensate water in the first six months has not been significant enough for me to worry that it would wash away my house.

Can anyone share their experience or knowledge regarding this situation?

Best regards,
Enrico

Yes, we have the same setup: clay soil and a heat pump with a soakaway system. I don’t see any problems at all if it is installed correctly. You can definitely do it!

What does "if done correctly" mean? How are your foundation excavations sized?

It must be installed especially deep enough below the frost line. The drainage area is approximately 1m x 2m (3 ft x 6.5 ft).