Is installing Geothermal Heating in Melbourne a good idea. You bet! Why?
Geothermal Heating Melbourne
- Melbourne experiences the extremes of both summer and winter.
Because Melbourne can experience temperatures in summer in the mid forties this makes it very difficult for normal air conditioning systems to reject heat to this temperature outside. As a result many standard air conditioning systems fail during these peak summer periods. Geothermal Air Conditioning in Melbourne is rejecting heat to a relatively constant ten degrees Celsius which means not only does it consume much less power but the components in the system last much longer. Especially the compressor which is the most expensive component in most air conditioning systems.
- Generally the soil profiles and subsurface temperatures are excellent.
Using Geothermal Heating in Melbourne works well because the ground gets a lot of solar gain even in winter, that’s right it’s like using solar panels. Also often the conductivity of the soil is very good. This means that the heat transfer rate from the piping to the ground is higher. We can design around low soil conductivity but it normally means more excavation or drilling which increases the initial investment. This lead is on to our next point.
- Excavation and drilling is often easier than other capital cities in Australia
There are exceptions and a soil testing are required on every site but it is not often we encounter problems excavating or drilling for geothermal heating in Melbourne. Excavating or drilling in very sandy soils is problematic due the excavation caving in. Rock is also not desirable because it increases the cost of excavation and drilling. It is not often in Melbourne we encounter rock, but we still always recommend soil testing because if there is rock or other services we need to avoid we can normally choose a loop field design to suit the site.
- It’s not as expensive as you think.
If you plan ahead with your building project or renovation plan all the earthworks together you can have the one excavation contractor do not only the foundation and landscaping but also the work for the geothermal ground loops. This saves an enormous amount on civil work and helps stage the project to suit the whole construction creating a win win for everyone.
To learn more please watch our overview video here or on youtube here and if you’d like an estimate please use our geothermal cost calculator here.
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