5-103.52. Geothermal Heat Pump System.
A mechanical device which uses the geothermal exchange properties and the relatively constant temperature of earth formations for heating or cooling a building space, and which consists of three (3) parts: (1) heat pump unit, (2) heat exchanger, and (3) heating/cooling distribution system.
A. Closed Loop Geothermal Heat Pump System. A geothermal heat exchanger that circulates a nontoxic antifreeze heat transfer fluid through a loop or multiple loops of polyethylene piping installed below the ground surface. Unlike an Open Loop Geothermal Heat Pump System (defined below), a Closed Loop Geothermal Heat Pump System does not involve the withdrawal of groundwater. The earth’s heat is absorbed by the heat transfer fluid within the loop piping and transmitted to the heat pump unit’s heat exchanger and compressor to provide heating. In the summer, the cycle is reversed and the Closed Loop Geothermal Heat Pump System removes heat from the building and transfers it into the earth.
B. Open Loop Geothermal Heat Pump System. A geothermal heat exchanger that withdraws groundwater from a supply well, passes the groundwater through a heat pump, and discharges the temperature-altered water either back to the ground in a discharge (return) well or to the ground surface or into surface water. [Ord. 1472, 05-08-17.]