Use of Ponds and Lakes for Closed Loop heat exchange--

Water makes a great conductor for the transfer of heat.  When it surrounds HDPE pipe such as that featured below, you have great contact and rapid convection of "new" water toward the (colder in heating, or warmer in cooling) closed loop fluid circulating in the heat pump system.  Ponds and small lakes gather heat in spring, summer, and fall.  They release much of it in winter, or at least until a cap of ice might insulate it from greater loss.  Even when a pond is frozen over on top, there are still many BTUs to be gathered from underneath in what we'd call "cold" water.  And as we take heat from this pool and it cools, the earth beneath the pond's bottom begins to yield more heat to the water.

In summer, a pond is a great heat sink for unwanted indoor heat.  This is better than adding to the summer heat already present in the atmosphere.  Why create an artificial "heat island" with a standard air conditioner?  Bury your unwanted BTUs in a pond or in the ground with a ground source heat pump!

(Above) Slinky looped coil runs, supply and return headers, and a rigid rack are prepared before placement in a pond with weights.  Even in cold climates with ponds freezing over; if the water volume is adequate, the ice cap insulates from the winter cold.  And as the water yields its heat content to your building, the pond bottom contributes heat.

(Left) A pre-weighted (notice concrete blocks?) 12-ton pond loop system in floated position, ready for sinking near the bottom of a pond.  As the circulating loop fluid is pumped into the matt, it will sink.  Spacers in the frame will hold the array just off the pond bottom, where water can more easily exchange heat (convectively) with the closed loop, fluid-filled HDPE pipe coils.

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