Waterless geothermal heating and cooling, ECR technologies and Earthlinked DX

The Earthlinked DX is a DX or direct expansion geothermal heating and cooling unit that utilizes a series of copper tubing loops buried in the earth. Refrigerant-22 is circulated by the equipment compressor from the compressor section to an air hander and the copper loops ( Earth Energy Field). The R-22 changes state either from liquid to vapor (evaporation) or vapor to liquid (condensation) in the different sections to provide heating and cooling at the highest efficiency possible.

The Earthlinked DX system has three major components. The compressor section holds the system compressor, 4-way reversing valve, and the necessary refrigerant controls for the system. The air handler has a DX coil in it and the blower or fan for moving the space air through the duct system. The Earth Energy Field is made of ½ inch OD copper loops 250 feet in length. These loops are parallel paths and one end of each loop is vapor line, the other is liquid line. All the vapor line ends are manifolded together and the all the liquid line ends are manifolded together into one line for connection to the compressor section.

The Air handler can be purchased from other vendors assuming the product meets the specifications of ECR Technologies. The specifications are that the rated capacity must match the capacity of the Earthlinked DX compressor section or be no larger than ½ ton. The coil may not have any refrigerant control, e.g. Cap tube, TXV, piston orifice, etc. If the coil normally comes with a piston orifice and holder, the piston must be removed and the seating surfaces in the holder must be drilled out as large as possible. All tubing in the coil must be 3/16 inch OD or larger. This includes the tubing that leads from each individual circuit in the coil to the liquid line. If you cannot find an air handler and coil that meets these specifications, you must purchase a suitable air handler from ECR Technologies or their authorized distributor. Use of an Air handler that does not meet these specifications will result in loss of capacity, efficiency and shortening of system life. In other words, you will be disappointed!

The Earth Energy Field can have two distinct configurations. The most common is the Horizontal where a trench 4 feet wide and 5 feet deep is excavated to a length of about 125 feet. The horizontal loop is placed on the bottom and on either side of the trench(four feet apart). There is one trench and one loop for each ton of capacity or partial ton. The other option for Earth Energy field construction is a vertical loop or the drilling of nominal 4inch bore holes to 100 feet deep and the insertion of a special vertical design copper loop into the length of the bore and then a back filling of proper material. There is one bore hole and loop for each ton of capacity or partial ton. The compressor section and the copper for the Earth Energy Field must be purchased from ECR Technologies for warranty and performance reasons.

The Copper tubing used in the Earth Energy Field is available in various forms. The copper comes in 1200 foot continuous rolls. We can provide these rolls to you with out processing. You can fabricate your own loops if you like. However, they are heavy and difficult to handle. Therefore we offer the rolls "pre-assembled" in individual loops, cut to length, pressure checked, and properly insulated. To make a horizontal loop, we measure out 250 feet and double it back in the form of a loop. We then re-roll the tubing from the return bend end into a "double loop" fashion. 18 feet of 3/8 wall rubber pipe insulation is placed on each end of the loop and the ends are sealed with a Schrader port and pressure checked to 500 psi with nitrogen to assure a leak free product. These are easily moved on site by one man and easily placed in the excavation. To make a vertical loop, we use 125 feet of ½ OD tube and 125 feet of 1/4 OD tube. The top 50 feet of the 1/4 OD tube is insulated. A special fitting for the "bottom" is made to join the tubes and make the transition in size. The bottom fitting is brazed in place with a 15% silver solder braze. The top of the ½ OD tube is sealed and a schrader access is brazed into the 1/4 OD tube. The assembly is pressure checked to 500 psi with Nitrogen. Spacer of 1" IPS PVC pipe is taped between the ½ OD and ¼ OD tubes every six feet for the entire length of the assembly to assure the tubes are apart in the bore hole.

The equipment can support a desuperheater domestic water heating supplement. It includes all necessary controls and pump. Be sure the pump has water in it before it is run. If there will be a period of equipment operation before the water connections are made to the desuperheater pump, then be sure to electrically disconnect the pump prior to equipment operation.

The ECR Earthlinked DX system will out perform and outlast any residential heating and cooling system available today if designed and installed properly. This you can bank on.