East St. Paul Geothermal Retrofit

East St. Paul Geothermal Retrofit

This complex project involved removing three existing fan coil units and upgrading to three geothermal heat pumps. Southern Comfort Mechanical upgraded this during the winter, so it was critical to complete the work in a timely fashion to ensure the home was not left without heat.

Design Challenge: This home has many large windows facing south, so portions of the home have a large cooling load throughout the year. In addition, the kitchen has heated floors and required cooling throughout various times of the day to ensure a comfortable temperature. Adding additional ductwork or modifying the existing ductwork would have added substantial cost, due to the fact that the basement was drywalled when the home was built. Several options were explored regarding ground loops. Since the yard is fully landscaped a conventional geothermal ground loop was not feasible.

Solution: To ensure temperatures throughout the home, zone controls and motorized dampers were installed. To avoid unnecessary disruption to the landscaped yard, the system was designed as an open loop, requiring only two wells to be drilled. Lines were then pushed under the driveway into the utility room, avoiding the need for extensive excavation. The end result is a system with a much larger cooling capacity, more comfortable zoning, and substantially lower energy costs.