biggreg
Member
Designing a 16k sealed grow in Fairbanks Alaska. Outdoor worst case temps can be lower than -60 in winter. A bit of a challenge to air condition when ambient is below zero and just it just damn seems wrong to boot.
So, it occurred to me, why not dump my heat into one of those tanks? Looked up a 5 Ton water coil/fan unit and it uses 45 degree chiller water at a certain gpm to achieve its rating. We have lots of free cold water up here.
In Fairbanks, 4 feet down, the soil stays below 45 degrees throughout the short summer. In winter it can freeze water pipes 12 foot deep. Its a common practice to have water delivered in this town. Also common for homeowners to bury a 1500 gallon tank 4 foot deep and use it for household water. the water is always ice cold and ice does form in the tank during the winter but doesn't quite freeze.
I know that 5 tons of heat could raise 60,000 pounds of water (7,202 gallons) one degree per hour. That is a starting point. The ground 4 plus foot deep should never be more than 45 degrees at the most and usually colder, so i could do a heat loss calculation on the tank?
Seems like this should work up here in these unique arctic conditions, just looking for some helpful ideas or thoughts.
So, it occurred to me, why not dump my heat into one of those tanks? Looked up a 5 Ton water coil/fan unit and it uses 45 degree chiller water at a certain gpm to achieve its rating. We have lots of free cold water up here.
In Fairbanks, 4 feet down, the soil stays below 45 degrees throughout the short summer. In winter it can freeze water pipes 12 foot deep. Its a common practice to have water delivered in this town. Also common for homeowners to bury a 1500 gallon tank 4 foot deep and use it for household water. the water is always ice cold and ice does form in the tank during the winter but doesn't quite freeze.
I know that 5 tons of heat could raise 60,000 pounds of water (7,202 gallons) one degree per hour. That is a starting point. The ground 4 plus foot deep should never be more than 45 degrees at the most and usually colder, so i could do a heat loss calculation on the tank?
Seems like this should work up here in these unique arctic conditions, just looking for some helpful ideas or thoughts.
