Trinity Glen Rose Groundwater Conservation District Monty McGuffin, Santos Tovar and Jim O’Connor Resource Compliance and Protection Department March 10, 2011 Geothermal Heat Exchange Systems

Page 2 March 10, 2011 Geothermal Heat Exchange Known by a variety of other names; –Geothermal Heat Pump, –Ground Source Heat Pump, –Ground Heat Pump, –Geoexchange, –Earth-Coupled, –Earth Energy, –Water-Source Heat Pumps,

Page 3 March 10, 2011 Geothermal Heat Exchange What is Geothermal Heat Exchange? Instead of having outside coils exchange heat with the air (like standard heat pump units), the geothermal heat exchanger is a central heating and/or cooling system that pumps heat to or from the ground. It uses the earth as a heat source (in the winter) or a heat sink (in the summer). This design takes advantage of the moderate temperatures in the ground to boost efficiency and reduce the operational costs of heating and cooling systems.

Page 4 March 10, 2011 Geothermal Heat Exchange Geothermal Heat Exchange System

Page 5 March 10, 2011 Geothermal Heat Exchange How Geothermal Heat Exchange Works These systems have a heat exchanger that facilitates heat transfer between the outside coil and a liquid. In the case of Kinder Ranch Elementary School, this will be Edwards Water. A pump circulates the water through buried pipes, where it is heated (winter) or cooled (summer) by the earth. Ground loop piping is typically made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) which is the industries preferred material. Closed loops use relatively small pipe sizes for the portion of the loop that exchanges heat with the ground, typically ranging from 3/4 to 2 inches. They can be buried in the earth in either of two ways: –vertical bore holes or horizontal trenches. When using the hole method, one or more 6-inch diameter holes are drilled to a depth of feet. In each hole, a pipe leads down and then loops back up to the surface, providing as much area as possible for heat transfer to take place. Typically, one borehole is needed for each ton of air conditioning/heating capacity. Both methods require good contact between the pipe and the ground, so the holes or trenches are generally back filled with material like grout or fine soil. If multiple holes or trenches are dug, they are kept at least 15 feet apart..

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Page 7 March 10, 2011 Geothermal Heat Exchange Vertical Closed Loop Installation The drilling equipment for vertical borehole excavation for the Kinder Ranch Elementary School was an air rotary rig, this type of rig uses air that is pumped down the rotating drill stem to remove the cutting from the borehole. A thermally-enhanced grout formulation with a higher ratio of sand to bentonite in the grout mixture (typically 100 to 300 pounds of sand per 50 pounds of bentonite) is used to seal the looped piping. Drilling cost for ground loop installation are typically not as high as for water well drilling, since logging and completion procedures are not usually required.

Page 8 March 10, 2011 Geothermal Heat Exchange Roller Cone Bit Air in Cuttings out Optional Steel Casing

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Page 11 March 10, 2011 Geothermal Heat Exchange Vertical Loop Piping The most common configuration for the vertical loop piping element in the drilled bore is a U-tube, where a 180-bend fitting has been factory fused to join two lengths of HDPE pipe, and this inserted into the borehole

Page 12 March 10, 2011 Geothermal Heat Exchange U-tube

Page 13 March 10, 2011 Geothermal Heat Exchange Arrangement in Series or Parallel Multiple closed ground loops can be arranged in series, parallel, or a combination of both. –In series systems, the working fluid can take only one path through the loop, –In parallel systems the fluid can take two or more paths through the circuit. Note that parallel arrangements use a reverse rather than direct return to the building so that all parallel flow paths are of equal length, helping to ensure a balanced flow distribution. Large commercial and institutional buildings such as schools usually employ parallel loops

Page 14 March 10, 2011 Geothermal Heat Exchange Closed Loops Arrangement Series arrangement of multiple closed loops Parallel arrangement of multiple closed loops

Page 15 March 10, 2011 Geothermal Heat Exchange Kinder Ranch Elementary

Page 16 March 10, 2011 Geothermal Heat Exchange Kinder Ranch Elementary Construction of Geothermal Vault

Page 17 March 10, 2011 Geothermal Heat Exchange Closed Looped Vertical System Open Looped Vertical Water Well System Closed Looped Horizontal (trench) System Closed Looped Pond System Different Types of Geothermal Systems

Page 18 March 10, 2011 Geothermal Heat Exchange Permitting 1997 revisions to City Code to address Geothermal wells Sec Permit for drilling new well required. (a) It shall be unlawful for anyone to drill, maintain, or otherwise construct or have constructed, any new water well, or any other artificial excavation to explore for or produce groundwater, or injection wells for the purpose of a earth- coupled heat exchange system, within the City of San Antonio or SAWS Water Quality Division. This section shall not apply to: (1) monitoring wells and test wells with a depth of less than fifty (50) feet; (2) blast holes in quarries and mines; and (3) wells or excavations for the exploration or production of oil, gas, or minerals, unless, without regard to the original purpose, the well is used as a source of water. (b) All drilling or construction of water wells, and injection wells for the purpose of an earth-coupled heat exchange system, shall be done in strict compliance with the terms of the well drilling permit, the SAWS Water Well Permitting Procedures, and 30 TAC, Chapter 238. (c) In addition to the requirements of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, any water well which will penetrate the Edwards Aquifer shall be drilled and maintained in strict compliance with 30 TAC, Sections 213 et seq., as amended. This paragraph does not apply to injection wells for the purpose of an earth-coupled heat exchange system. (d) To preserve the water quality of the aquifer, the construction of any bore hole, injection well for the purpose of an earth-coupled heat exchange system, or water well for the purpose of an earth-coupled heat exchange system located over the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone and Transition Zone shall be prohibited. (e) An open system, geothermal well that draws water from an aquifer and is circulated through the heat exchange system or geothermal wells which inject water into an aquifer will not be permitted within the limits of the City of San Antonio and within SAWS Water Quality Division.

Page 19 March 10, 2011 Geothermal Heat Exchange Permitting SAWS – Permit fee covers the Geothermal System in whole ($200) TGR – Permit fee is $350 per bore-hole EAA – Permit fee is collected on each bore-hole ($25 per hole drilled) typically a pass-through permit is required

Trinity Glen Rose Groundwater Conservation District Monty McGuffin, Santos Tovar and Jim O’Connor Resource Compliance and Protection Department March 10, 2011 Geothermal Heat Exchange Systems