Geothermal Loop System St Louis
Hoffmann Brothers installs 4 different types of loop systems: Vertical Loops, Horizontal Loops, Pond/Lake Loops, and Open Loops. Hoffmann Brothers is the premier St. Louis, MO Geothermal Heating and Cooling Contractor. Call today for your Geothermal Energy Audit and learn about the installation of Geothermal Heat Pumps!
Whether your property is located in the crowded St Louis urban environment that requires a vertical loop system or in a less-confined suburban or rural St Louis area where a horizontal, lake, or pond loop may be a viable option, Hoffmann Brothers’ Design team stands ready to provide you with a geothermal heating and cooling system that meets your individual needs. Let Hoffmann Brothers begin drilling for your geothermal loop installation today! Call (314) 664-3011 to discuss which geothermal loop system is the best fit for your home with one of our Project Managers.
Closed Loop Geothermal System St Louis
Closed loop geothermal systems recycle the same water or water mixture through the underground loop system in order to facilitate the transfer of energy between your closed geothermal loop and the earth. Closed loop systems are the most efficient geothermal loop option when an abundant natural water supply is not immediately available. For each ton of HVAC heating or cooling, approximately 200 feet of geothermal loop system is required to support the energy transfer to and from the ground. Hoffmann Brothers has served as the premier geothermal contractor in the St Louis area, and closed loop drilling has been our specialty for over 20 years. Give your Hoffmann Brothers Geothermal Project Manager a call at (314) 664-3011 to schedule an appointment, or request a bid through our online form.
Vertical Loop Geothermal System St Louis
The Vertical Geothermal Loop system is used with the installation of a Geothermal Heat Pump system. This type of loop is the most energy efficient and space saving closed loop option used today. Hoffmann Brothers Heating & Cooling perform Vertical Loops installation every week, with this being the most popular type of loop system installed in the St Louis area.
Vertical loops are typical for existing homes or businesses that replace their old heating and cooling system with a Geothermal Heat Pump. It is also popular for homes & businesses that are located in more of an urban area, like St Louis, Missouri, with not a lot of land for digging. Vertical geothermal loops are also used when the land around the home or business is too rocky or limited soil is available for trenching.
Installing Vertical Loops with Geothermal Heat Pumps
Since the vertical geothermal loops are dug vertically, less space is required for the loop systems to be installed. There are many factors that are considered when designing the loop fields such as the total heating and cooling requirements, the amount of space that is available, and drilling conditions.
To install a vertical geothermal loop, Hoffmann Brothers will bore holes into the ground. Each installation is unique to the job but generally one bore hole handles one or more tons of total heating and cooling capacity. Holes are spaced about 15 feet apart to minimize the effects of the neighboring loops. These holes are typically 150-300 feet deep. Long, U-shaped loops of pipe are then inserted into the holes. The vertical loop hole is then backfilled or grouted, and the pipes are connected to headers in a trench leading back to the building. The piping carries fluid in a closed system to and from the geothermal unit inside the home or business.
Geothermal Horizontal Ground Loop Design & Installation For St. Louis
Horizontal geothermal loops travel parallel to the earth’s surface and provide businesses and homes the most economical geothermal loop option because less excavation is typically required of this geothermal loop type. Horizontal geothermal loop installations can be adversely effected by hard rock deposits that may interfere with horizontal loop drilling. Hoffmann Brothers has extensive experience designing and installing horizontal geothermal loop systems for new construction projects. Trust the geothermal engineering experts at Hoffmann Brothers to install your horizontal closed loop system.
Piping for Horizontal Geothermal Energy Loop Installation
For the horizontal loop of a Geothermal Heat Pump system, the land needs to be big enough for the trenches do be dug. Excavation equipment digs trenches from 6-8 feet deep and range from 100-300 feet long, depending on the design.
The horizontal system uses a number of trenches. The piping can be configured in the trenches in several ways:
- A single pipe
- Multiple pipes in a narrow trench
- Multiple pipes in a wider trench
One of the advantages of a horizontal loop system is being able to lay the trenches according to the size of the lot. Parallel piping is then laid in a series in these trenches allowing fluid to run through the pipe.
Geothermal Pond Loop St Louis – Lakes & Ponds
A pond loop is a great option for a Geothermal Heat Pump system installation when a large body of water is available near the home or business. Because the pond and lake geothermal loops are located within the body of water, there is minimal excavation costs associated with the installation of these water based geothermal lake and pond loops.
When to use a Geothermal Pond/Lake Loop Installation
A half acre, 8 to 10 foot deep body of water is usually adequate to support the average home. The body of water is best if it is within 200 feet from the home. This geothermal system uses coils of pipe typically 300 to 500 feet in length. The coils are placed in and anchored at the bottom of the body of water. Polyethylene piping is run to the water underground and then long sections are submerged under water. The pipe may be coiled in a slinky shape to fit more of it into a given amount of space. The fluid circulates through the piping, just as it does in ground loops, to the geothermal unit. Pond loops used in a closed system result in no adverse impacts on the aquatic system.
The expert geothermal loop design team at Hoffmann Brothers is prepared for any geothermal installation, just call us at (314) 664-3011!
Open Loop Geothermal System St Louis
Hoffmann Brothers can install open loop geothermal systems for customers who have access to an abundant supply of groundwater which can be harnessed as a direct energy source for the geothermal open loop system. An average sized home will require a flow rate of 4 to 8 gallons per minute in order to maximize the open loop system efficiency.
Open loop systems utilizing ground water frequently prove more efficient that closed loop systems because the open loop system is typically better coupled with ground water temperatures. Let the professionals at Hoffmann Brothers install your next open loop geothermal system- our design team guarantees your satisfaction with the installation of your open loop system. Call Hoffmann Brothers for all your geothermal loop needs at (314) 664-3011.