How much land area does the ground loop require?
The size of the ground loop depends on the size of system, the design of the ground loop, and the soil conditions. For a vertical loop, a rough estimate for planning purposes is one borehole of 60 meters (200 feet) deep per one ton (12,000 btu) of heating load. Each borehole should be 3 to 5 meters (10 to 16 feet) apart. The boreholes can be placed to fit in available land, they may be drilled in a row, a rectangle, or other shape that fits into the landscape. For a horizontal loop, one trench of 106 meters (350 feet) in length is required per ton of heating load. The trench is typically 2.5 meters (8 feet) or more deep, and backfilled with the soil originally removed. As per Canadian C448S standards, we use only high-density polyethylene pipe for the ground loop.
