How to calculate tonnage?
Last Post 29 Feb 2008 05:34 AM by Klorinth. 7 Replies.
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KlorinthUser is Offline
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18 Feb 2008 11:45 PM
Hey everyone!

I'm in the process of building a new home and am at the point where I am getting quotes on the geothermal. I have spoken to several different companies and am waiting to hear from them all. The rough estimates are all basically the same, $17-25K. They all have said the same thing for tonnage as well. They are all agreeing on 3-4 ton unit.

Details:

- 1357 sqft standard 2x6 framing.
- south facing passive solar design.
- ICF foundation with 2" subslab insulation.
- R20 walls, air leakage sealing and overlapping all joints.
- R50 ceiling, loose fill cellulose and sealing of joints.
- etc...

Now, I have gone through the calculations with HVAC-Calc using a few different variables. Although I noticed I can't seem to factor in the subslab stuff. Anyway it all seems to come down to +33-38K btuh heat loss. This factors in about 13K btuh heat gains as well. This all takes into account our temperature swings from summer highs of 105-110, and winter lows of -45. We have had a fair amount of -40's this winter.

How do I take all of this and translate it into tonnage for my geothermal? I have seen people write btuh divided by 12K = tonnage. Is this correct? Is ther a more accurate way? A little more precise?

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.


Palace GeothermalUser is Offline
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19 Feb 2008 08:56 AM
You are wise to be asking this question now.  It will save you lots of grief down the road.

You need a table that shows the capacity of the Heat Pump brand you are going to use.  I have attached one below.  The amount of BTUs that a heat pump can put out is directly related to the water temp coming out of the ground.  You will notice that there are three temps given on the page.

At 68°F incoming water temp the 048 four ton unit has capacity of 54,1000 Btuh.

At 50° the capacity is 43,000

At 32° the capacity is 36,900.

So you need to know what the coldest the loop will get during the heating season.

Most ground loops are figured at 32°.  At this temp the 4 ton unit only gives you 3 tons of heat.

Some people wrongly asssume that a 4 ton heat pump will give you 4 tons of heat under any condition. 

This is why there are so many posts on this forum complaining that their heat pump is not keeping their house warm.

Hope this helps.


Attachment: HeatPump Capacity.pdf

Dewayne Dean

<br>www.PalaceGeothermal.com<br>Why settle for 90% when you can have 400%<br>We heat and cool with dirt!<br>visit- http://welserver.com/WEL0114/- to see my system
KlorinthUser is Offline
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19 Feb 2008 02:24 PM
Geodean,

Thanks. I was thinking along the same lines. I don't know what the ground temp is at present nor what the low winter temp is going to be. I will certainly ask though. Given the way weather is and the budget limitations I have, I'm not sure what I will do. I do lean towards getting the 4 ton unit simply for flexibility. I prefer the idea of being safer than sorry.

So it all comes down to the differences in companies. Each unit will be different due to its own limitations. Can I trust what each company states about their products capacities?


Palace GeothermalUser is Offline
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19 Feb 2008 02:32 PM
Posted By Klorinth on 02/19/2008 2:24 PM
Can I trust what each company states about their products capacities?
[/quote]
The heat pump manufacturers each have to submit the units for independent testing. You can read all about it on the attached page

Attachment: ARI.pdf

Dewayne Dean

<br>www.PalaceGeothermal.com<br>Why settle for 90% when you can have 400%<br>We heat and cool with dirt!<br>visit- http://welserver.com/WEL0114/- to see my system
cnygeoUser is Offline
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19 Feb 2008 04:35 PM
As I read it, ARHI only spot-checks about 1/3 of the units - the rest are on the "honor system". One would hope that if a manufacturer was overstating their performance they would be found out sooner or later. One thing to watch out for - make sure the specs you are looking at are for single-phase, 220V power (assuming that's what you have). While looking into a low COP/high power draw issue I'm having, i found that the specs for my unit appear to use a 3-phase compressor, and there is no mention of this anywhere in the specs. 3-phase motors tend to be inherently more efficient, so the output and COP are slightly over-estimated in my case.


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26 Feb 2008 02:17 PM


Dewayne Dean

<br>www.PalaceGeothermal.com<br>Why settle for 90% when you can have 400%<br>We heat and cool with dirt!<br>visit- http://welserver.com/WEL0114/- to see my system
tuffluckdrillerUser is Offline
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28 Feb 2008 10:35 AM
Where are you located? Is your heating load much higher than your cooling? And, is your house only one level of 1357 sq. ft?


Clark Timothy ([email protected])<br>Geothermal Heat Pumps: Heating and Cooling that's Dirt Cheap!<br>www.pinksgeothermal.com
KlorinthUser is Offline
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29 Feb 2008 05:34 AM
Tuffluckdriller,

Winnipeg Manitoba, in the Great White North. I have to admit that I'm not sure if I can say that the heating is greater than the cooling load, but that is probably the way to go. In the middle of the summer when the humidity is up I might say something else. lol As I mentioned at the beginning of this thread, our temp extremes are very extreme, about 80 degrees celcius from summer to winter (150 F). Average temps in summer are about 25-32 celcius vs winter temps of -20-30 celcius. Sorry not certain of the F.

The house is 1357 sqft main floor with 1316 sqft conditioned basement. I would have preferred a slightly more green/energy efficient design, but my partner is fairly conservative and was too uncomfortable with some ideas.


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