75% of your heat from the ground

You too can become a geothermal energy user, inexpensively obtaining 75% of your heat from the ground.

The deeper one penetrates into the Earth, the warmer it gets. In central Europe, the temperature increases by approx. 3°C every 100m down. It is now believed that temperatures of around 5,000 to 6,000°C prevail at the Earth’s core. This heat, stored inside the planet, is inexhaustible according to human standards. Energy flows unceasingly from deep inside our planet to its surface, from where it is then lost into space. Every day, the Earth radiates into space about four times as much energy as mankind currently consumes every day.

With the technology we have today, it is possible to exploit this environmentally-friendly and climate-friendly source of energy almost everywhere, converting the Earth’s energy into useable heat.

Why not help yourself to this energy resource that is available, free of charge after capital outlay costs, on your property day and night, whatever the weather; is constantly renewed from the depths of the planet and from sunshine; and can be used with technology tried and tested a thousand times over.

You can make use of geothermal heat at a depth of around 1.5m by means of horizontally laid geothermal heat collectors or at depths of 70m to 150m by means of geothermal heat probes. Both the collectors and the probes contain brine that takes heat from the ground for heating, or transfer heat to the ground for cooling. The geothermal heat is brought to a temperature suitable for heating purposes by a heat pump.

Harvesting geothermal heat with a (complete) system

Heat pumps are normally used for harvesting geothermal energy from the ground. In principle, these work like fridges: heat is extracted from the fridge contents and given off to the surroundings via cooling fins.

In the same way, the pump extracts heat from the ground using special pipe systems (probes or collectors). This heat is released, at a higher temperature, to another heating medium (water/air) via heat exchangers. This heat can then be used by underfloor heating in full, or in part by other heating systems.

Geothermal probes

RAUGEO geothermal energy probes are manufactured to the strictest guidelines and installed on your property at depths of 70m or more - this is the way to tap your very own source of geothermal heat that will always be there. Use it for heating in winter, and for cooling in summer.

RAUGEO probe PE-Xa is a geothermal energy probe made of cross-linked polyethylene. It is capable of withstanding the greatest strains, even in deep bore holes, providing long-term durability and resistance to scratches, grooves and other damage.

RAUGEO probe PE-100 is a geothermal probe for simple requirements. Thanks to its extremely small diameter, small, inexpensive bore holes suffice.

Advantages of geothermal probes

• highly effective
• highly energy efficient
• take up very little space
• hardly any maintenance required

All REHAU collector pipe systems are manufactured from high-quality, environmentally-friendly polyethylene. If your grounds extend to several hundred square metres then a collector pipe system is the ideal alternative to the geothermal probe: highly efficient, easy and inexpensive to install (no specialist bore hole drilling required). The RAUGEO collect is ideal when a large area is available (300m² and above) and it is inexpensive to lay by DIY or by a civil engineering company.

These days, when building on poor load-bearing ground, piles are installed to provide stability. Piles equipped with RAUGEO pipes within the structure for tapping close-to-surface are called geothermal heat energy piles. Given the right geological parameters, pipes with water flowing through them can extract heat for heating and dissipate heat for cooling in summer.

Accessories
REHAU provides every accessory you require - the complete system, all from a single source including pipe connectors, distributors, house wall entry adapters etc.

Awadukt Thermo Ground to Air Heat Exchanger

Every year, the ground to air heat exchanger makes more and more headway in European homes - with a growth rate in excess of 100%. Finland is at the forefront, equipping almost 20,000 new homes with controlled ventilation every year. REHAU has developed the first antimicrobial ground to air heat exchanger system. From now on, the owners of low-energy and zero emission homes not only save money, they also considerably improve the quality of the air inside their homes.

The ground to air heat exchanger - how it works:

The ground to air heat exchanger is installed upstream from a controlled ventilation system with heat recovery. The principle is based on the fact that the temperature of the ground remains around 10°C summer and winter alike. Fresh air is conducted through an underground pipe system to heat it in winter and to cool it in summer.

Useful links
Rehau Polymer (Pty) Ltd
For more information on geothermal heat, read this article
View the Rehau Geothermal Systems brochure