Air conditioning with Fan Coil Units is an expedient method because it offers both heating and cooling. FCU can be found in various types: floor, roof, concealed or obvious type. A central system with FCU provides the control of the temperature, the air speed and the On/Off operation. Their operation is simple and quiet, especially if the system is dimensioned properly. The level of the noise depends on the type of the manufacture, as well as the designed operation speed. The concealed type units minimize the level of noise and are placed with orifices or with air ducts. Their filters have to be cleaned once a year. The electrical consumption of FCU does not exceed the consumption of a 40 Watt lamp. |
A geothermal system combined with infloor heating succeeds high efficiency ratio and low operational cost, due to the low water temperatures in the infloor heating. The heating of the interior of a building is accomplished by the heating of its structural elements via infloor piping. The disadvantage of this process is the inertia of the system in rapid climatologic changes, and in consequence, this system should be preferred in mountainous climates or in cases that heating is required ceaselessly. Cooling is not feasible with the infloor piping, except partial cooling. With partial cooling, there is the danger of deliquescence of the floor. For the proper operation of partial cooling, additional Fan Coil units and dehumidification units must be used, but the cost of the investment is higher. |
Radiators used in a geothermal system operate with low water temperatures compared to the conventional radiators, and achieve similar energy output. Low temperature radiators can provide only heating and no cooling or partial cooling. The geothermal heat pump supplies radiators with water of higher temperature than any other system, such as infloor heating or fan coil units. Consequently, higher consumption of electrical energy is required due to the lower efficiency ratio. Despite the fact that the electric consumption is higher than any other geothermal system, the system has more economical operation than a conventional heating system. |
Heating and cooling of a residence can be succeeded with geothermal water to air heat pumps, connected to air ducts. Air ducts distribute hot and cold air in the interior of the residence. Control of the desirable temperature is provided for the entire building by a central thermostat. If autonomy is required then the installation is more expensive. Control of temperature can be succeeded via damper. The geothermal water to air heat pumps can be obvious or concealed type placed in floating screeds. |