the pipes can be installed either horizontally or vertically in the ground or in a pond or lake.If the building is on a large lot,
the tubing can be installed in a horizontal trench. The trench depth varies depending on the frost line in your area. In North
Dakota, depths of 6 to 10 feet are typical. Trenches are dug and pipe of the correct diameter is installed.The compaction of the soil around the pipe is critical to ensure efficient heat transfer between the pipe and the ground.Overlapping the piping, such as installation in a “slinky” configuration, will reduce the efficiency of the heat exchanger but may be a necessary tradeoff to take advantage of available space (Figures 4 and 5). For installations where the land area is not available, vertical bore holes are used and the pipe is installed in the vertical bore holes or wells. The wells are
generally around 200 feet deep in North Dakota and are placed approximately 15 feet apart.The vertical pipes are connected in parallel to make the flow loops essentially equal. Grout is used in the bore holes to ensure good
heat transfer between the pipe and the ground.For horizontal and vertical installations, the buried pipe is connected to a manifold of larger diameter pipe and runs into heating equipment in the building.Vertical ground-source heat exchange installations can be seen in Figures 6 and 7.