Heating

Air to Air Heat Pumps

Believe it or not, there is enough warm air outside to heat your home in the winter—even in -25° Celsius! HVAC (which stands for Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) systems take warm air out of your home in the summer and bring it in from outside during the winter. There are two types of HVAC systems:

• Outdoor– A unitary outdoor condensing unit provides heat/cool to the indoor air handler. Another system can connect 2-3 indoor units into one outdoor unit, allowing a variety of installment types (ceiling cassette, slim duct, wall mounted or floor mounted). This kind of diversity means that the owner can truly customize their system.
• Indoor– This type of system can be used individually, for whole house conditioning, or it can be combined with other indoor units, with all of them being connected to an outdoor unit.

GeoExchange / GeoThermal Heating Systems

GeoExchange systems are designed to heat interior spaces using the earth or a body of water as a heat source, which are clean, renewable and consistent resources. GeoExchange pumps draw heat from the ground or water during the cold season and release heat back into it during the warm season. Not only are GeoExchange systems energy efficient and environmentally sound, they are also the most cost-effective type of heating system available today. Since they are not exposed to the elements the way traditional outdoor space-conditioning systems are, with their underground parts being virtually worry-free, GeoExchange heating systems need a lot less maintenance.

There are four different types of GeoExchange systems for residential, commercial or industrial use. Each of these types are unique and can either be completely new installations or retrofits for existing buildings or pools, with a number of different configurations:

• Open Loop System– This type of system uses groundwater as a heat source, with the returned water being released into either a body of water or a designated recharge well.
• Closed Loop System– This type of system draws heat from the earth or a body of water, using a continuous pipe loop. Closed Loop systems can be installed in the ground horizontally or vertically, or the loops can be installed underwater (lake or unique to Lockhart-the ocean).

Commercial, Industrial or Institutional GeoExchange / GeoThermal Systems

Business owners who use GeoExchange systems to heat their spaces swear by them. Since the cost of running a business can be high, it’s important for owners to manage their company’s bottom line by cutting costs where possible. Fortunately, cutting costs in heating doesn’t have to mean suffering with an inadequate heating system. A properly installed GeoExchange system can be maintained at costs as low as 7-10 cents per square foot per year! GeoExchange systems use only a minimal amount of electricity, and access natural, renewable sources of heat: the earth and surface water. There are four types of GeoExchange heating systems available for commercial use:

• Open Ground Water Loop– This type of system requires less excavation. It draws from an underground aquifer, which lowers the up-front installation cost.
• Closed Loop Earth System– This type of system takes advantage of the fact that the earth absorbs roughly 47% of the sun’s energy, which is renewable. A series of pipes are installed vertically in the ground and are sealed in.
• Surface Water System– This type of system uses a series of coils that are submerged right down to a natural water source’s floor. If there is a surface body of water near, this can be an inexpensive option for business owners.
• Boiler/Tower System– This kind of system can be retrofitted if large GeoExchange systems aren’t ideal. In this case, a Boiler/Tower system gets added to a smaller GeoExchange loop to handle seasonal peak needs.

GeoExchange for Aquaculture

Far from being simply a means of heating or cooling an indoor space, GeoExchange technology can be used to Process Heating and Cooling to control water temperatures in aquaculture facilities as well. Lockhart Industries have pioneered the use of GeoExchange technology in fish hatcheries throughout the western coast of Canada, and they are still leading the way.