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Water Loop System

Water based geoplate schemes can be employed when looking at large commercial or industrial applications. Large lakes, rivers, and salt water applications can be used to locate the geoplates within the body of water to reject or absorb heat from the water. The geoplates are manufactured in stainless steel or titanium for long life expectancy.

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The plates are fabricated in modules to suit each application for flexibility of installation. RHI Energies has the in-house capability to offer a complete turnkey package from the modelling of the water loop design using the latest design software, through to the installation of the system pipe work to the final commissioning and after sales management of the system.

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System Options

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  • Simultaneous heating and cooling heat pumps

  • Water to direct expansion (VRF) solutions

  • Heat recovery

  • Free cooling

  • Integrated closed loop options to enhance overall capacity and efficiency

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Key Benefits

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RHI Energies offers a geoplate scheme suitable for lakes, rivers and salt water applications manufactured from stainless steel or titanium. The units are built on a project by project basis and the fixed height dimensions are 900mm and 1500mm. The geoplate assemblies are manufactured and tested in the UK prior to going to site and provide an economical approach to ground source systems. Geoplates are designed to provide very low pressure drops to keep pump power to a minimum and to enable high COP to be obtained. The dimple design on the outside creates a turbulence over the plate to maximize heat rejection / absorption and assists with keeping the plates clean.

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The HDPE pipe work from the geoplate system carries water to the heat pump and the operation is fully sealed so that there is no contamination of the system or the body of water.

The heat pump operates in the same manner as a closed loop system and takes the energy that has been stored from the lake via the geoplates to the heat pump to provide LTHW to the building. The heat pump can then be switched into “reverse cycle” mode and will reject heat energy into the ground loops so as to provide cooling to the building during the summer months.

RHI Energies offers

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  • In-house modelling using the latest software of the geoplate system based on the building load profile

  • Assessment of the body of water where the geoplates are being located.

  • Design confirmation indicating the size and number of geoplates required in a fully detailed design.

  • Installation of the geoplates into the lake

  • Installation of all interconnecting pipe work from the geoplates to the heat pump

  • Supply and installation of the ground source heat pump hydraulic circuit including valved header arrangements heat pumps, geo circulation pumps, pressurisation sets, dosing systems, expansion vessels etc

  • Final pressure testing and flushing of the complete geothermal circuit

  • Filling , dosing and verifying system glycol content and quality

  • Final commissioning of the ground source system for client use

  • Dedicated installed IOMs

  • Training and operation of the system and equipment for the client and its representatives

Key Benefits​

  • Suitable for design loads from 7kw to 10,000kw

  • Cheaper than drilling closed loop bore holes.

  • The geoplate offers a hydraulic interface between the water media to ensure a clean sealed system

  • No major filtration required due to the hydraulic break between the geoplate and the body of water.

  • Unique dimple design achieves highest possible energy efficiency

  • Modular design offers flexibility for system options

  • Suitable for projects in the UK and abroad

  • Extremely low maintenance.

  • Efficiency of system can be guaranteed all year round as the body of water is constant compared to air cooled systems that have variable ambient temperatures

  • Low payback periods on life cycle costing analysis as highly efficient and low running/maintenance costs

  • No building structural requirements (or structural costs ) to support geothermal systems as they are all installed within the body of water.

  • No requirement for large internal plant spaces or roof plant areas

  • System has no visible or noise impact as installed below ground. Therefore no line of sight or acoustic screens are required and planning becomes simplified

  • 30 years life expectancy on titanium plates

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