Direct Exchange Geothermal Technology?

[wildbill99]

The new issue of JLC came yesterday and they have an article on Direct Exchange Geothermal Technology.

They don't use water for heat transfer, but directly burry, or put into wells, copper carrying the refigerant.

It list too companies ECR Tech, http://www.erctech.com, with EarthLink brand.

And American Geothermal, http://www.amgeo.com But all I could find on their web site was for industrial processing and heat recovery.

Anybody know anything about this? How long has it been around?

[gmcd]

Given all the extra tube with refrigerant in it, I'd be concerned about the cost of losing a charge, and leakage into the environment. Even if it's small tubing, the extra volume of refrigerant adds up for the amount of heat exchange going on. Efficiency gains on the geo-exchange side may be outweighed by extra compressor HP to move all the refrigerant around.

[airhead1164]

I have installed both systems. I prefer ECR'S. A typical 5 ton system will hold 30 lbs of charge. They use scroll compressors and the amp draw is usually 17 to 20 amps. We bury the field six to seven feet down in Michigan and pressure test to 500 lbs. Everything is protected so I don't anticipate any leak issues. I would also direct you to http://www.heawarsaw.com for more info on ECR systems. Good luck,
Brian

[mjballweg]

Do you have any particular reasons for preferring the ECR systems Brian? Thanks for the info you provided above as well as the link to hearsaw.com. I'm trying to decide which way to go also.

[airhead1164]

The control system used by ECR is far superior and simple to set up. I found we had to monkey with AMGEO"s quite a bit. I also get much better support from Mike at HEA. Chris Pamplin is no longer at AMGEO and I hear they are regrouping their efforts at the residential side. So for now I am going with ECR. Hope this helps,
Brian