ᐅ Space and Cost for Geothermal Heat Pump

Created on: 21 Jul 2015 14:57
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Schrimp
Hello everyone!

We are currently considering what and how we want to build. It’s about a new build that will be constructed by a developer. At the moment, a 36cm (14 inch) Ytong exterior wall is being offered. I would like to replace the standard heating system—a gas burner with radiators—with a heat pump and underfloor heating throughout the house, completely eliminating the need for a gas connection.
I don’t really want to use an air-source heat pump because I don’t want the noise or the unit in the garden, and I’m not thrilled about the decreasing efficiency during the cold season.

However, I have a few questions about the design and implementation. First, I have no idea how much more expensive ground source heat pumps are compared to air-source heat pumps. Do you have any rough estimates? I would prefer to use ground probes, meaning boreholes, since I consider that the most reliable method.
But what happens if there is damage to the system? A technician can simply open up and repair an air-source heat pump. However, no one would want to dig up the ground probes, right?
Also, how much space is needed for something like this? I was thinking the boreholes could be made in front of the house—that is, between the house and the sidewalk. There’s only about 3–5 meters (10–16 feet) of space there. If someone needs to access the pipes, you would have to remove the paving. I won’t be able to bring in heavy machinery to the garden later on.

To increase the efficiency of the system in the long run, I would also like to add photovoltaic panels later, but that would have to wait a few years due to cost and planning reasons.

Thank you for your help!
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Sebastian79
19 Apr 2016 14:24
Do you mean the entire heating system installation or just the unit with 11,000 euros? Your drilling wasn’t exactly cheap either, price-wise...
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Legurit
19 Apr 2016 14:49
Yes, including all pressure vessels, installation, and commissioning.
The drilling was unfortunately quite expensive – there is more or less a monopoly with the W-120-2 certification (among those who still had capacity).
We unsuccessfully searched for someone with experience in trench collectors.
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oleda222
19 Apr 2016 21:07
It's a bit late now, but you definitely could have done it yourself. We did it on our own and it worked without any problems. Much better than I expected, especially considering my two left hands...
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Legurit
19 Apr 2016 21:39
The second house will be better