Geo Thermal Cooling And Dehumidification

[zeke]

The average temperature of the Earth at a depth of 30' is around 50 degrees Fahrenheit in Washington state. So if you buried an 8" pipe 30' under your greenhouse, warehouse, grow room or mother's basement and then forced air through it..... Whatever temperature goes in comes out at around 50degrees Fahrenheit ! Now think about how much electricity it costs to run a fan versus an air conditioner unit or HVac system. Granted it's not cheap to buy and then bury any length of 8" plastic pipe 30' into the Earth but over time the lack of maintenance and energy inputs will more than pay for this kind of system. A plastic pipe buried into the Earth doesn't really require any maintenance.

Ok so that was part one of the beauty of this setup. As you know when a warmer air mass moves across a cooler surface condensation occurs! So if you added a slight pitch to your under ground 8" pipe and a reservoir of sorts complete with pump on the low end, you would simultaneously cool and dry your environment. Im thinking that in a sealed environment this would work really well. If you are setting up a large facility the savings would be huge... Millions of dollars in energy costs and HVac gear or proper site preparation utilizing geothermal energy. The Earth doesn't break down or over charge you for equipment and maintenance costs....have Hoe will travel.

 

[fishwhistle]

This guys been doing it for years,they told him it would never work,lol.
http://www.citrusinthesnow.com/

 

[ShroomKing]

It's a great idea in concept.

But you need water in the geothermal system to get the results your looking for efficiently.

 

[ShroomKing]

This guys been doing it for years,they told him it would never work,lol.
http://www.citrusinthesnow.com/

No technical information unless you pay $24. Ummm. Lol

 

[fishwhistle]

It's a great idea in concept.

But you need water in the geothermal system to get the results your looking for efficiently.

Not necessarily true shroom,
http://www.citrusinthesnow.com/geoair-energy.htm

 

[ShroomKing]

Anything is possible.
I worked on geothermal AC systems for government buildings.

We laid 10" plastic coils 8' deep and were powered by 15kw 3_phase pumps. With well pumps for backup water. It ran into the buildings and into a chiller system that cooled the buildings. It was nice. But I really doubt you can do it with air like that. You would have to have a field for the tubes. You couldn't pour foundations over it like you can a water coil system.

 

[zeke]

I'm thinking just air. Radiant floor heating and cooling would work well with liquids and geothermal energy as well. My ideal space would utilize both.

 

[mrfxr]

If you pump water or even ethylene glycol through your 8" pipe you could use it for cooling in summer, if pressurized, efficiency could increase with addition of a fan. The addition of a capillary tube could also serve as a heat pump...maybe refrigerant. (Me going off!) Back on the farm in Southeast Mn. Wisc. Border we had a cave maybe 35-40ft in depthan access able to only about 50 yd. Back. The 'folks' had carved steps and ledges Along the walls. It usually was quite damp and wet floors in spring. It was used for storage originally I guess. I remember it being warm in winter and cool in summer. We weren't allowed in but you know kids. I often thought of blowing air into the house in summer from the cave.

 

[zeke]

I'm thinking old Russ is growing some mean green. Old boy got a serious scowl on... What a retarded article. " he proved the professors wrong" , bullshit. Of course it works and of course liquid is more efficient, it just costs way more and requires much more maintenance. He does have a cool setup though...

 

[fishwhistle]

Yeah i hear you on the 24 bucks,lol,but that doesnt negate the fact it works,cant blame the old dude for trying to make a buck off his idea.I first read about this guy years ago in a USDA paper given to me by nader khalili of cal-earth institute,an architect who developed ways to build sustainable housing for people in third world countries for the united nations and also worked with NASA to figure out how they might eventually be able to build shelters on the moon using material available there,no dummy.Nadir used it to create root cellars in conjunction with his earth bag building techniques for food storage in africa where the little food they had spoiled fast in the heat if not consumed right away,admittedly this is low tech but thats also the beauty of it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nader_Khalili
http://www.earthbagbuilding.com/index.htm

 

[ShroomKing]

If you could power your cooling tubes by natural water pressure and/or natural spring water so that once you build the system it never had to be powered and there was a steady flow of cool water flowing through the tubes at all times, and if you use the force of water flowing through those tubes too to generate the power for your lights, that would be some groundbreaking stuff right there.

 

[zeke]

Fish whistle, I dug the article. $24 is fair for sure. My thoughts of retardation were related to the style of the article. The whole "he proved the scientists wrong" bs. Sort of like saying I can ride my bike to the store thirty miles away but those scientists said a car would be more efficient. I proved them wrong and made it there! Dude just used a less efficient form of geothermal energy (air) and took advantage of the fact that an Air system requires less maintenance and capital to get running. I'm doing this for any new facilities I build and I'm sure I can dig a6' trench along the building I'm currently running and pop one in. The temp and humidity moderating action is too great to not utilize. My next green house is getting one and radiant floor style heat ala concrete slab style heating hoses. The portable kind that contractors use to cure slabs at low temps.

 

[stonestacker]

I like the idea but 30' thats deep. Does it really need to be so deep? The geothermal forced air for my house is only 6' deep with two 3/4" pipe one @ 3'-6" and the other on the bottom. Two trenches 300' long. Heating and cooling 3800 sq ft. Works great.
I'd like to use something like this to control my grow.

 

[zeke]

I'm sure it doesn't have to be that deep. At that depth the temp is fairly constant in most places. I'd just do 6' and call it good. I'm thinking 8" sewer pipe would be relatively cheap and readily available. Attach a 8"max fan and push air into the buried tube. Aside from a couple squirrels, mostly cool dry air should come out other end.

 

[stonestacker]

I'm sure it doesn't have to be that deep. At that depth the temp is fairly constant in most places. I'd just do 6' and call it good. I'm thinking 8" sewer pipe would be relatively cheap and readily available. Attach a 8"max fan and push air into the buried tube. Aside from a couple squirrels, mostly cool dry air should come out other end.

I got to looking last night That goe rig cost us 11 grand fuck.

I just worry about mold in the pipe. How are you going to collect the condensate water? Are you sure the air will be dry? Don't get me wrong I love the idea. I would like to build another pole barn and put some rooms inside. Use some kind of geo heating and cooling flip the flower rooms for heat. I'm just too lazy to educate myself on how to engineer it.

I'd love to get the grow out of my house and expand.

 

[zeke]

I'm thinking just slope the pipe and fit some sort of collection trap on the end. As long as it's the lowest point it's good. Then put yourself some sort of submersible pump with a float valve and you are rocking. Water collected equals air dehumidified. Water readily collects on cool surfaces when moist warm air masses contact them, gravity always allows water to flow downhill and its always cooler under ground. At least that's what my mama told me.

 

[stonestacker]

At least thats what my mama told me roflmao.
I think you might need a longer run. How long of a run did Russ have? It's been a long time since I read his article.
My whole life here in MI My basement has been humid in the summer. I just can't help but think the air will be humid.

 

[jijiandgang]

Condensation only occurs when an object is colder than the Dew point. Which isn't likely going to happen with that setup in a grow room.
Easiest way if your in a cold area in winter is to circulate water outside in a tank to a heat exchanger if the temp is below the dew point the heat exchanger will form condensation.

- Jiji