The Downsides of DIY Geothermal
You May Want to Reconsider DIY Geothermal
Geothermal systems are becoming increasingly popular because they can reduce your heating and cooling system’s impact on the environment, save you money on your energy bill, and last a long time. Because the cost of installing a geothermal system can be a significant investment, many people wonder whether DIY geothermal is an option.
Here's what you need to know about the risks and potential downsides of a DIY system and why it may be best to hire a qualified professional instead.
Downsides of DIY Geothermal
Lack of Know-How
Understanding how best to install a geothermal system for a particular property requires specialized knowledge. Knowing which system will be best for a given home requires you to have extensive experience in a number of different areas which are typically outside of the realm of the average person's experience.
Here are just a few of the areas you will need to be skilled in to make good decisions about a geothermal system:
Geology. You must understand the physical structure and makeup of the land that you are considering for a DIY geothermal system and also be aware of what kind of weather and other external processes may affect the geology of a given area. Whether the soil is rocky or sandy, how much water is typically in it. All of this will affect which kind of system should be used in a given area.
Hydrology. It is essential to have an extensive understanding of the way water moves over and through the land to effectively install a ground source heat pump. Even the difference of a couple of degrees of elevation can determine whether the system works or not.
Land availability. Some types of geothermal heat pumps may require quite a lot of land while other types can make use of less ground but may require more complicated installation. You need to understand what available land will work well for a geothermal system to decide which system to use.
Heating and cooling system requirements. An intimate knowledge of the geothermal heating and cooling system itself is essential in order to install it properly.
Devices in the home. You need to know how the geothermal system will work with the other devices in the home, from domestic hot water to the air conditioner, and everything in between.
Dangers of Digging
Depending on where you are, you may need to dig a fairly deep trench to install your DIY geothermal system. However, digging a deep trench can have some serious dangers even for professionals, and can result in a meaningful hazard for the home excavator. There is a significant risk of the trench falling in on you while you are digging.
May Require More Space
A professional geothermal installation company can bore the pipe directly down into the ground and is able to move around obstructions. It can go underneath buildings, trees, septic systems, etc. By contrast, without one of these specialized machines, you will need to dig an open trench to bury the piping, which means that you need to lay it on unobstructed ground. To have enough room, you'll need to have a much larger space to work with.
Potential Contamination
Most types of geothermal systems rely on some kind of chemical to allow heat exchange. These chemicals can be extremely dangerous to the environment and anyone living nearby. Chemicals like methanol, ethanol, and other kinds of anti-freeze are extremely toxic.
Even a small leak can result in serious issues for your family and any wildlife nearby. Another popular option, calcium chloride, is not as dangerous to people as animals, but it is highly corrosive, so you will need to use expensive and difficult to install cupronickel pipes.
Mistakes Can Be Costly
Installing a geothermal system can be a very expensive project, often costing more than $30,000 even if you do all of the work yourself. The design of your DIY geothermal unit needs to be perfect for it to function successfully. Unfortunately, you may not realize that your system isn't working properly until it is finished and the trenches have been filled in. That means that repairing an issue requires you to dig the entire system back up again, which is both frustrating and expensive.
Types of DIY Geothermal Considerations - What Might Go Wrong
Closed-Loop System
Closed loop systems are the most common geothermal systems. They can be built within a trench or bored underground horizontally. They can also be installed vertically, like a water well. Piping can even be installed underneath water if you have a lake or pond on your property. You need at least eight feet of water over the pipe.
Installing piping underwater or underground requires highly specialized equipment which can be very difficult to obtain, expensive to rent, and require specialized knowledge to use. Even a slight issue with your installation of a closed loop system can result in a leak which will contaminate the system and can even lead to a breakdown of the entire system.
Closed-loop systems are not effective in sandy or rocky soils and do not work well in very dry soils either. They depend heavily on the use of chemicals, which makes potential issues more dangerous.
Open Loop System
In an open-loop system, a well is installed that has a submersible pump. This draws the water that goes to the heat pump for effective heat transfer. When the water is done going through the system, it goes back to the aquifer, usually through a second well or directly into a stream or lake.
These systems are typically not as popular, especially for a DIY geothermal system, since they are somewhat more expensive to operate. Building a well is expensive and the submersible pump costs more to run and causes issues with maintenance. Releasing water into the aquifer or a stream or lake has environmental considerations and may require special permits.
Unless these systems are done perfectly, they are unlikely to save you money on your monthly energy bills and they will be very expensive to install. If the well isn't deep enough, it may draw too heavily on the aquifer and cause insufficient water flow. How much water is available in the aquifer will vary dramatically depending on the time of year and conditions.
Lake Bed
In these designs, the ground loop is laid underneath at least eight feet of water in a lake, rather than being buried underground. If water is any shallower, piping can easily be damaged as water heats and cools and especially if it freezes. The loop is exposed to the lake, which means that it can suffer from UV damage, underwater plants and algae, and may be disturbed by any activities in the lake such as large animals moving through it, boating, or even people swimming.
All it takes is a very small crack or leak in the piping to contaminate the entire system and possibly destroy all the work that you've done. While these systems may seem easier to install at first glance because there is little or no digging involved, they can be challenging to maintain and subject to even the smallest issues.
Vertical System
In this type of DIY geothermal system, piping is laid straight down into the ground and then connected to piping that lays along the ground and runs to the house. Because this system requires digging very deep holes or using specialized boring equipment, it is out of reach for any do-it-yourselfer unless you have experience using the specialized equipment.
It can be very dangerous to dig such deep holes and lay piping into it. Pressure from the weight of so much earth can also be very hard on the piping, which may make issues with a do-it-yourself system more likely.
Advantages of Professional Geothermal Installers
While there are many disadvantages to a DIY geothermal system, there are significant advantages to having your system installed professionally by a qualified installer like Comfortworks. While it may be hard to swallow the initial investment, a system like this saves money in the end on your electricity bill and thanks to geothermal tax credits.
You can feel confident that a professionally installed system will be the correct size for your needs and run for many years. If maintenance is required, a professional can provide it easily without risk to your home or environment.