LoopLink Updated

First things first, we missed a change to the login script on the software page of our site. Sorry to those of you that tried unsuccessfully to log-in through that page over the weekend. We corrected the problem early Monday morning however, you may need to refresh your browser to get the fix to work.

Now that we have that issue sorted out lets talk about some of the updates we introduced this week...

Improved Graphs

One of the most obvious changes you'll notice as you go through the software is that the graphs have changed considerably. We made all of them easier to read and more presentable for the reports. The operating cost and carbon emission graphs now more clearly indicate the values and labels for each bar.

Enhanced Support Tools

Less noticeable changes we made are the backend improvements to help facilitate faster and easier customer support. We have built in access for the LoopLink support team to view your projects with you. The biggest thing you should know about this function is that we will be in a read-only mode while we work with you through your questions and can never alter the specifications that you enter into your design.

We have also expanded our sort and find functions for the user list and simplified the updating for equipment profiles and other system parameters. These are changes that will make keeping LoopLink up-to-date even easier which will help to ensure that you are always working with the most current GSHP design software available.

Read-Only Mode

Besides being a necessary and very cool tool for us, the new Read-Only mode of the software will enable any expired users to view their projects and print out their reports. Of course being read-only, expired users won't be able to change their projects parameters without resubscribing but you will always have access to your information.

System Profiles and Bin Data Values

We have been periodically adding equipment profiles and bin-data locations for the past couple of months. Most of these have been by user request so if you come across an equipment profile you need or a bin-data location we haven't added yet, let us know and we will try to take care of it as soon as possible.

Program Modifications and Bug Fixes

We have made a few key changes to the software that you may or may not have realized needed tweaking.

For those that have tried to make a design with very large loads, you may have run into the cap that we originally placed on LoopLink loads. The reason for the cap was originally to avoid people designing projects that were beyond the bounds of what we intended LoopLink to be used for— residential and light commercial design. We found that for large spaces without complex gains like small warehouses, this was too stringent a restriction. Long story short, we removed the cap and have added in a warning message when loads are beyond typical for residential and light commercial applications.

The NNAGL (Normalized Net Annual Ground Load) calculation has been changed to increase accuracy. The method formerly used was a conservative one so there was no danger of underestimation. The new calculation just brings things a little closer to the true equation for the data curve.

Finally, the carbon emissions graph caused an error when generating reports for systems that had no heating loads. Being from South Dakota, we didn't think of that eventuality when we went through our original testing but some of our southern friends turned us on to this issue.

Practicing What We Preach: Geo-Connections Installs New Loop Field.

Geo-Connections broke ground on the bore holes for our new facility late last week. The system was designed with LoopLink (of course) and consists of twelve, 200' vertical loops on fifteen foot centers. The builiding it will supply is 120'x60' with 20' side walls.

We thought we would share photos as the project progresses. Drilling is going a little slower than planned but the soil contained a lot more gravel than expected from our previous bore fields and we did hit a rock shelf just past 100 feet. The drillers switched out their bit and we are expecting things to move quite a bit faster through out the next couple of days.

LoopLink For Educators Announced

One of the core beliefs of Geo-Connections and our staff is that our success depends on the ability of the GSHP industry to become a mainstream technology. To make that goal a reality, we know that a properly trained workforce coupled with well-designed systems are key. We have had a couple of instructors from universities and trade schools approach us about using LoopLink to help teach their students GSHP design and we realized that the industry was giving us an opportunity to stand by our beliefs.

Geo-Connections proudly announces that we will be offering free LoopLink accounts to instructors and teachers throughout the duration of their GSHP design courses. The software will not be limited in any way the only difference between the student version and the regular version is the price.

To learn more, check out our "LoopLink For Educators" page.

Grouting Practices for Horizontally-Bored (Directionally-Bored, HDD) Loopfields

Horizontally-bored loopfield installations are becoming a more widely recognized viable alternative to the vertically-bored loopfield configuration.  However, designers must be aware of the different aspects and limitations associated with HDD (horizontal directional drills) loop installation to properly design such a system.  Special attention must be paid to the installation depth, soil properties, pipe placement methods, and grouting practices during the HDD loop installation process. 

One major point of debate related to HDD loop installation is whether it is necessary to completely grout the holes after pipe placement.  Arguments against grouting HDD bores are:

• Hole collapse around the pipe
• The presence of heavy drilling mud left in the boreholes

Our response to each of these arguments is:

• There is no way to guarantee that the native soil will collapse around the pipe uniformly and with the density needed to promote adequate heat transfer through system
• Drilling mud and/or drill cuttings are not recognized by IGSHPA or the National Ground Water Association to be adequate grouting materials   

Grouting is the only way to ensure consistent thermal contact between the pipe and the earth to promote heat transfer.  In fact, in Section 7.7 of IGSPHA’s Ground Source Heat Pump Residential and Light Commercial Design and Installation Guide (2009), it is recommended that all horizontally-bored holes be grouted from end to end to ensure contact between the earth and GHEX piping and to protect the integrity of our environmental groundwater supply. 

Our experience with HDD loopfield installations further reinforces this concept.  We have dealt with numerous installations in neighboring states.  The majority of the problematic HDD installations we have encountered have been where the loop contractor did not grout the holes, but left them to bore collapse and thickened drilling mud for performance.  It must be stressed that the ultimate goal during construction is to build a heat exchanger.  Proper performance of that heat exchanger is critical for the performance of the system as a whole. 

In the interest of putting our best foot forward as an industry, best practice principles suggest that we should completely grout all boreholes, vertical and horizontal, and leave nothing to chance. 

GSHPs Act as Safeguard Against Inflationary Energy Prices

Cash is king. 

In uncertain economic times, can a ground source heat pump (GSHP) serve to shelter us from the forces that cause our energy prices to fluctuate (and generally increase with time)?  Those of us in the GSHP industry already know of the many benefits that these systems retain over conventional heating and cooling systems, especially in the areas of environmental impact, energy conservation, home comfort, aesthetics, maintenance and most importantly, economics. 

One major advantage of GSHP systems that is overlooked by most is their power to act as a safeguard against inflationary energy prices.  It is relatively easy to show that as energy prices go up, GSHP systems become more and more economically attractive while retaining all of their aforementioned benefits.

To perform such calculations, we first need to know the amount of energy contained in a given amount of electricity, natural gas, propane and heating oil as shown in the following table:

Fuel Type	Energy Equivalent
Electricity	3,412 Btu/kWh
Natural Gas	100,000 Btu/therm
Propane	92,000 Btu/gal
Fuel Oil (#2)	140,000 Btu/gal

The simplest way to compare the cost of heating with a given fuel source is to calculate the cost to deliver a fixed amount of energy.  In this case, we will calculate the cost to deliver 1,000,000 Btu’s of heating energy (1 Mbtu) to a space.  The equations used to perform the calculations (which are provided in the new GSHP Design & Installation manual from IGSHPA) are as follows:

Natural Gas Heating Cost:

Propane Heating Cost:

Fuel Oil Heating Cost:

Electric Resistance Heating Cost:

Air-Source Heat Pump (ASHP) Heating Cost:

GSHP Heating Cost:

The cost of energy and assumed efficiency for each type of heating method was assumed to be as shown in the following table: 

Fuel/System Type	Energy Cost	System Efficiency
Electricity (Resistance Heat)	$0.10/kWh	eff = 100%
Electricity (ASHP)	$0.10/kWh	HSPF = 6.8
Electricity (GSHP)	$0.10/kWh	COPa = 3.5
Natural Gas	$1.50/therm	AFUE = 95%
Propane	$2.00/gal	AFUE = 95%
Fuel Oil (#2)	$3.00/gal	AFUE = 95%

The results of the calculations for the assumed system efficiencies and fuel costs are provided below.  As shown in the table, the cost to deliver 1,000,000 Btu’s (1 MBtu) to a given space was calculated for each type of heating system as previously discussed. 

To take everything one step further (using the cost to heat with a GSHP system as the baseline for the calculations), the cost relative to heating with a GSHP system as well as the savings using GSHP system were calculated.  For example, the table shows that heating with a 95% high-efficiency natural gas-fired furnace while paying $1.50/therm is almost twice as expensive as heating with a GSHP system with an average annual COP=3.5 while paying $0.10/kWh for electricity.  Furthermore, a GSHP system would save about 47% per year in heating costs (or $7.42 per MBtu’s of heating energy delivered) over the natural gas-fired furnace heating system for the assumptions given.    

Direct Heating Cost Comparisons

System Type	Energy Cost	Delivered Cost ($/MBtu)	Cost Relative to GSHP	Savings Using GSHP (%)	Savings Using GSHP ($/MBtu)
Natural Gas (AFUE=95%)	$1.50/therm	$15.79	1.9	47%	$7.42
Propane (AFUE=95%)	$2.00/gal	$22.88	2.7	63%	$14.51
Fuel Oil (AFUE=95%)	$3.00/gal	$22.56	2.7	63%	$14.19
Electric Resistance (Eff. =100%)	$0.10/kWh	$29.30	3.5	71%	$20.93
ASHP (HSPF = 6.8)	$0.10/kWh	$14.71	1.8	42%	$6.34
GSHP (COPa=3.5)	$0.10/kWh	$8.37	--	--	--

Next, the same calculations were performed after an assumed 50% increase in ALL energy prices:

Direct Heating Cost Comparisons (After 50% Increase in Energy Prices)

System Type	Energy Cost	Delivered Cost ($/MBTU)	Cost Relative to Ground Source	Savings Using Ground Source	Savings Using Ground Source ($/MBtu)	Annual Operating Cost Increase ($/MBTU)
Natural Gas (AFUE = 95%)	$2.25 / therm	23.68 (+50%)	1.9 (No Change)	47% (No Change)	$11.12 (+50%)	$7.89 (+50)
Propane (AFUE = 95%)	$3.00 / gal	34.32 (+50%)	2.7 (No Change)	63% (No Change)	$21.76 (+50%)	$11.44 (+50%)
Fuel Oil (AFUE = 95%)	$4.50 / gal	33.83 (+50%)	2.7 (No Change)	63% (No Change)	$21.27 (+50%)	$11.27 (+50%)
Electric Resistance (Eff. = 100%)	$0.15 / kWh	43.95 (+50%)	3.5 (No Change)	71% (No Change)	$31.39 (+50%)	$14.65 (+50%)
ASHP (HSPF = 6.8)	$0.15 / kWh	22.06 (+50%)	1.8 (No Change)	43% (No Change)	$9.50 (+50%)	$7.35 (+50%)
GSHP (COPa = 3.5)	$0.15 / kWh	12.56 (+50%)	--	--	--	$4.19 (+50%)

Returning to the example of the natural gas-fired furnace, after a 50% increase in energy prices it is still almost twice as expensive to heat with natural gas compared to the GSHP system.  Additionally, the GSHP system still saves about 47% in annual heating costs.  However, because the numbers are larger, the savings are more significant.  

For the case of the natural gas-fired furnace, the GSHP system saves $11.12 per MBtu of heating energy delivered (compared to $7.42 per MBtu in the previous example).  As shown in the table, the 50% increase in energy prices leads to a $7.89 per MBtu increase in the cost of heating with natural gas compared to a $4.19 per MBtu increase in heating with the GSHP system.    

The results of these calculations drive home two main points.  The first point is that heating costs and the savings associated with a GSHP system are relative to energy prices.  As the prices of natural gas, propane, and heating oil increase with respect to the price of electricity, GSHPs look more attractive.  Historically, electricity prices have tracked inflation (increasing about 3-4% per year over the last 10 years) while natural gas, propane, and heating oil prices have tracked the cost of a barrel of oil (increasing about 7-8% per year over the last 10 years). 

The second point is that GSHP systems do act as a safeguard against increasing energy prices by virtue of how a GSHP works.  Only about one-third to one-fourth of the energy delivered in heating with a GSHP comes from electricity consumption, the rest is extracted from the Earth.  ALL of the energy delivered with a combustion-based heating system comes from the consumption of a fuel source whether it is natural gas, propane, heating oil or electricity.  To put it simply, a 50% increase in a small number makes a much smaller impact than a 50% increase in a large number.

Over time, energy prices will rise and fall but one thing will remain constant: GSHPs are (and will continue to be) the most reliable, environmentally-friendly, economical heating and cooling system available in the marketplace today.

Rewriting The Book On Geo: Interview with Ryan Carda

In 2009, Geo-Connections, Inc. finished work on the complete rewrite of the IGSHPA Residential and Light Commercial System Design & Installation Manual. The goal was to create a comprehensive reference source for the geothermal heat pump industry based on sound scientific and engineering fact learned through our more than 50 years of combined professional experience.

Ryan Carda, one of the manual's co-authors, answers some questions about the new manual in the interview to follow.

Why write this new geothermal design & installation manual for IGSHPA?

When IGSPHA first contacted us to see if we would be interested in writing the new manual, we knew the task would be a huge undertaking. But we also knew it would give us the chance to serve a great need in the industry.

Our livelihoods depend on the success of the industry as a whole, so we wanted to create something that would help push it to the next level. Geothermal heat pumps are becoming more mainstream and as new companies jump in, they will need a guide to help them along the way.

How does the new manual differ from the older version?

The old manual served as a decent installation guide for many years but as time passed, the industry evolved. Also, there wasn't a lot of concrete information in the old manual that was related to the actual design procedures you need to follow when sizing a ground heat exchanger.

An abundance of great information did exist, but it was scattered in so many places, it was hard to find. We tried to pull all of that information into one place and then present it in a manner that would be fairly easy to understand. This manual is by far the most comprehensive guide available for all things geothermal: installation, design, system troubleshooting, economics, etc. Just about anyone could take something from this manual, engineers, contractors, and well drillers alike.

How might the new material help people and companies in the industry? 

As new companies come to the industry and try to get their start, they will be exposed to countless rules-of-thumb, general guidelines, etc. The problem with that lies in the fact that newbies won't understand where these rules of thumb came from and which situations they work for or where the exceptions exist. The new manual was written so that if used properly, no one would have to rely on secondhand rules of thumb.

As an industry, we need to be as competitive as possible. There isn't much room for error. Also, if someone really takes the time to read through the presented material, they'd see that geothermal heat pumps aren't nearly as intimidating as they seem to be at first glance.

Geo-Connections' Blog Replaces Articles and Interviews Page

We are finally up and running with our new blog. What was formally our Articles and Interviews section is now going to be replaced with this blog. This format combined with our LoopLink Twitter account will make it easy to keep everyone informed about where and when we are training as well as all of the new developments with LoopLink.