- This topic has 1 reply, 7 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 8 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
Just wondering if anyone has any knowledge or geothermal being used to cool and heat homes in Costa Rica?
Heat homes in CR? Only in the mountains or quite a high altitude is that necessary.
Geothermal plants are throughout the country, but on a very large scale.
Find a property in the Central Valley and in many other areas … even in Guanacaste… and neither heat nor A/C is needed.We are planning on building outside of Tambor and wanted to investigate the use of geothermal to cool the house.
[quote=”Klyph”]We are planning on building outside of Tambor and wanted to investigate the use of geothermal to cool the house.[/quote]
I would say you would need volcanic heat to work with geothermal and Tambor is a long way from that. Geothermal heat would only be available through the central mountain chain.
In the ten years I have lived here, I have been in ONE home that had heating in it and that was pretty high up in Escazu because the Grandma – who was very old and frail – felt the cold.
That’s the one and only …
Pura Vida!
Scott
Geothermal is a system where lengths of pipe are buried underground at a depth where temperatures are constant. A liquid (usually water or a mix of water and ethanol) is pumped through the conduit system. It passes through a heat exchanger where the constant temperature liquid can be converted to either heat or cool your house. Much like a refridgerator works to cool the inside and put out heat out the back side of your fridge. The liquid dissipated the excess heat or cold into the earth. The heat produced can also be used to heat your hot water or even a swimming pool. From what I have heard this system is not in common use or not well known in Costa Rica.
The pipe loop system that is used in most commercial applications of geothermal heat (many new schools utilize it) is also very exepensive in initial cost. The typical depth of these systems I have seen is 250-300′ and there are 100’s of thermal loops. On a $50 million + project, the life cycle costing probably works out in 20-30 years. Solar is a lot cheaper and much more efficient on the Nicoya peninisula.
Isn’t the question about AC? If yes, a nearby flowing stream could be used as a heat sink to remove heat from a liquid transfer medium. You’d still have to have the technical parts of the system and someone to install and maintain it.
Yes David and thank you. The question is about A/C. The piping can be installed vertically or horizontally in the ground. But yes you are right a stream or pond make for a much better heat transfer. My son in law took a course on its usage and indicated that the system is now becoming more of a mainstream source on rural farms in Canada as well as the US. Inroads into cities has started here in Alberta, Canada. The idea is that after a certain depth the temperature is very constant thus providing a stable source for heat transfer. But yes piping into water works as well.
I would be wary on building anywhere near a river. Having seen the results firsthand, where during the rainy season, suddenly the river has grown both in volume and width, demolishing everything in its path.
This year has been worse than usual, with more to come.I wasn’t suggesting building near a river, Shirley. What I meant was to run a pipe down into the river and back to circulate coolant and disperse heat. That could be done far from the riverbank.
[b]David[/b], I didn’t mean to say that you did…just to point out what happens here, every year is that homes get washed away, if the are too near a source. Or worse, below…
I have a heat pump on my house, which acts as AC and uses the ground as a heat sink; we live in a coastal climate (Puget Sound). Arizona uses “swamp” or evaporative coolers, but these function much better in arid climates. Most of what you see in CR are wall mounted electric AC units with the coompressor/fan coil portion outside (LG is popular), thus the argument for solar to provide the elec. A heat pump runs $5,000-$7,000 installed here. What does the typical CR AC system run installed?
One of the attractive features of Costa Rica is that if you pick the right location you don’t need heat OR AC. If you are interested in the lower cost of living this is a major part of the cost savings.
In the lowlands where there is no sea breeze it can be pretty miserable and is also where you are most likely to run into problems with mosquitoes and tropical diseases.
As the altitude increase the temperatures drop. It does not take much altitude. A few hundred feet is all. If you get too high in the mountains it can get down right cold at night and the clouds and damp can make it more like Seattle, WA than the tropics.
Costa Rica is known as the country of a thousand micro climates. Pick a temperature range above freezing and humidity and it exists in Costa Rica.
Scott’s book is very helpful on this subject. But in the end he sugggests you spend some time where you plan to live before you buy and check out the climate. Don’t forget that there are two major seasons (wet and dry) to check out.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
