GeoLoopField

SAMPLE DESIGN PROJECT

Assignment: Design a vertically bored ground heat exchanger and calculate the savings with a geothermal
heat pump system from Modine versus a conventional gas fired heating and central air conditioning system.
Getting To Know the Interface
This assignment is designed for first time users and will introduce you to the Breeze GeoLoopField
interface and highlight some of the key features available in this powerful ground loop design software.
We’ll start by introducing you to the icons and basic navigation.

From here on in we are assuming that you have already started an account and are currently logged in.

The Project List Logged in as: UserName logout

Every time you log in, the first screen you

will see is the Project List. More than a Geo-Connections, Inc. by Geo-Connections, Inc.

clever name, this screen holds a list of all of

Home Project Zones GHEX Economics

your projects and serves as your home page Welcome Customer First Name!
Thank you for choosing Breeze GeoLoopField geothermal design software. Since this is your first login we wanted to help point Account

enabling you to navigate to any of your

you in the right direction. You are currently on your home page. In the future your home page will be the page you use to navigate
from project to project using the searchable and sortable table below.
Account Settings
To get started with your first design, click the new project button ( ) in the tool tray below the Breeze GeoLoopField logo

previous projects or start new ones.

Projects

Once you have created some projects you Showing 1-1 of 1 Projects
SEARCH

can use the headings in the list to sort Name

Project Name
Client
Client Name
Modified
DD-Month-YY
Created
DD-Month-YY

according to the method that makes the Showing 1-1 of 1 Projects first previous 1 next last

most sense to you. Toll Free: (866) 995-4449

302 E Warehouse St | PO Box 255 | Elkton, SD 57026
Copyright © 2010 Geo-Connections, Inc.

Sort
Click on Name, Client, Modified or Prepared to sort by that column. To reverse the order of a
sort click on the arrow to the right of the column label.

Descending Order (A-Z)

Ascending Order (Z-A)
Search
Once you have a lot of projects in your list, it is probably going to be easiest to find your old
projects using the search function found just above and on the right of the project list.

Enter your search terms in the field next to the button, then click SEARCH

The search function will look in the Name and Client fields of all of your projects and return a
list of the closest results in the same familiar table.

Duplicate and Delete

Each project on your list will have two icons on either side in the table. To the left is duplicate
and to the right is delete.

Duplicate Project: creates a copy of a project and all its data.

Delete Project: deletes a project from your list. (You will be warned.)

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Getting To Know the Interface

Navigating Breeze GeoLoopField

The navigation in Breeze GeoLoopField is pretty easy to get used to. We have made it so that there are
two ways of getting around the software so you can choose the method you are most comfortable with.

Main Navigation Bar

Home Project
Project Zones
Zones GHEX
Hot Water GHEX
Economics Economics

Home Go to Project List.

Project

New Project Start a new project.

Client Information Go to Client Information in current project.
Project Details
Go to Project Details in current project.

Zones

New Zone Add a new zone.

Zone Summary Go to Zone Summary in current project.
Zone Name
Go to Zone in current project (as you add zones more names
will appear in the list).
Hot Water

New Hot Water

Add hot water generation to the current project.
Hot Water Generation Go to hot water generation in current project.

GHEX

New Vertically Bored Add a vertically bored loopfield to the current project.
New Horizontally Bored Add a horizontally bored loopfield to the current project.
New Horizontally Trenched Add a horizontally trenched loopfield to the current project.
GHEX Name Go to named GHEX specifications in current project.
(As you add GHEX designs this list will grow.)

Economics

Operating Cost Summary Go to Operating Cost Summary for current project.

Go to Cost of Ownership for current project.
Cost of Ownership

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Getting To Know the Interface

Tool Tray and Right Side Bar

The tool tray contains all of the actions for a project in Breeze GeoLoopField while the links in
the sidebar enable you to navigate to the different sections of your current project as they are
created.

Start a new project.

Add a new zone. Project

Add a new hot water generation system. Project Summary

Client Information
Add a new GHEX design. Project Details
(A drop down will enable you to select the
type you would like to create.) Zones

Zone Summary
The links in the right side bar are for navigating to the
Zone 1
different sections of your current project. With the excep-
Zone 2
tion of Project Summary, these links are the same as those
described for the Main Navigation.
Hot Water Generation

Reports Hot Water Generation

Project Summary GHEX

Horizontal Bore 1
The Project Summary link will take you to the page that
Horizontal Trench 1
enables you to generate a report from Breeze GeoLoop-
Field made up of the sections you choose to include. Vertical Bore 1
(More on this later.)
Economics

Operating Cost Summary

Cost of Ownership

Reports

Project Summary

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Getting To Know the Interface

Page Action Buttons

Each page will have a delete, reset or save button located at the bottom.

DELETE Deletes the zone, hot water generation, or ghex from the current project.

RESET Resets all of the values on the current page to the last saved state.

Saves the current page.

by Geo-Connections, Inc.

SAVE

HINT: When you are inside of an entry field, if you press the enter key on your
keyboard, the page will save.

These buttons will automatically deactivate when the action isn’t available. Deactivated buttons
will still be shown on the screen but they will be greyed out.

DELETE RESET
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SAVE

Help
Throughout Breeze GeoLoopField you will find help buttons to the right of every subsection
title on a page where inputs are necessary.

Soil Details HELP

Soil Thermal Conductivity Btu/hr ft °F Soil Thermal Diffusivity ft2/hr

HELP Go to the help file related to
the section.
Piping Details HELP

Pipe Configuration
Trench Depth 6 ft

C-C Spacing (SCC) 8 ft

Select A Pipe Configuration

HELP Horizontal Spacing (SH)

Pipe Diameter (Dp)

Number of Flow Paths

Flow Paths per Trench

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The Sample Project

Getting Started
Now that you have a basic understanding of how to get around Breeze GeoLoopField lets get down to
work and really use it.

First thing we need to do is start a new project. Click the button in your tool tray.

Client Information Page

If all is well in the world, you should have a screen much like the one shown below in front of you.
Notice that the Right Side Bar is blank and all of the buttons in the Tool Tray except new project are
inactive. This is because you need to put a minimum of the information marked *required before
progressing further in your project.

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The Sample Project

Client Information Page

Enter the following into the corresponding fields on the page. Not all of this information is required but
it will serve to show you how the information will be included in the rest of Breeze GeoLoopField as
you work through a project.

First Name: John

Last Name: Doe
Company: John’s Plumbing and Heating
Street: 1102 Lincoln Lane
Country: United States
City: Boston
State: MA-Massachusetts
Zip: 02101
eMail: john@jph.com
Primary Phone: 888-888-8888
Secondary Phone: 888-888-8889
Fax: 888-888-8890
Notes: This field is for you. The contents will not show up
on any of your reports and can only be seen on this
screen.

by Geo-Connections, Inc.

SAVE

Buttons on this Page

Sends an e-mail to the listed address through your default mail program.
This button doesn’t work until after the page has been saved.

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The Sample Project
Project Details Page
When you hit save on the Client Information page, you should automatically be taken to the Project
Details Page. The start of a project is the only time Breeze GeoLoopField will redirect you to a new
page after you click save. From now on you will remain on the same page but the save successful (or an
alert) notification will appear at the top.

Notice that your project name, client

name and client phone number now
appear at the top right of the work
area. Now if you need to call your
client about some missing informa-
tion, the number is right there so you
don’t have to go hunting.

Also, your bin data state should have

auto-populated with the client’s state.
The two are independent but more
often than not they will be the same
so we thought we would just fill that
out for you... you’re welcome.

Fill in the remaining fields with the following information:

Project Name: First Breeze GeoLoopField Project
Bin Data City: Boston
Open Loop: leave unchecked
ASHRAE Heat Conditions: 99.6
Cool Conditions: 0.4
Gain Level: Medium
Maximum EWT: 90.0 °F
Minimum EWT: 30.0 °F
Deep Earth Temp: 52.0 °F
Standard Electric Rate: 0.12 $/kWh
GSHP Electric Rate: 0.12 $/kWh
ASHP Electric Rate: 0.12 $/kWh
Fuel Oil Rate: 2.65 $/gal

by Geo-Connections, Inc.

SAVE

If you have any questions about the information you are entering, click HELP it covers more than
just how to use the software. There are some useful reminders of what some of the acronyms and indus-
try terms mean.

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The Sample Project

Project Details Page

Now that you have saved your values into this page you can see that we weren’t lying, we aren’t going to
push you around anymore. You are now free to move about Breeze GeoLoopField as you like (within
reason of course).

Also note that the Right

Side Bar now has some
links available. Feel free
to click on any of them
now. Just come back to
the project details page
when you are ready to
continue with the project.

Buttons on this Page

Opens up an interactive deep earth

temperature map of the contiguous
United States.

Besides being more fun than reading

the value from a table this interactive
map is quick and easy. Just highlight
a temperature line that is geographi-
cally close to your location and click. Mouse over the nearest temperature line to see your deep earth temperature. Deep Earth Temperature

The map will close and the temperature data will be updated in the Deep Earth
Temperature field. If you want to close the map without selecting a temperature
click anywhere on the screen besides over a land mass.

NOTE: The line closest to your target area may not be the best choice every time.
The map is a general guide. If you know the local DET, enter it manually.

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The Sample Project

Add a New Zone

You have started a project and defined where it is located now lets start defining the space itself by
adding zones. For this project we will only have one zone but you can add as many as ten zones to a
project.

Click the button in your tool tray.

NOTE: This tutorial has been completed using a full subscription account so the option to change the
peak heating and cooling loads is available. If you are using a trial account, your loads are
locked to 36,000 Btu/hr.

Zone Name: Entire House

Peak Heating Load: 36,000 Btu/hr
Peak Cooling Load: 36,000 Btu/hr
Heating Set Point: 70 °F
Cooling Set Point: 75 °F
Space SHF: 0.9000
Heat Pump Type: Water to Air
Capacity: Single
#Heat Pumps: 2
Manufacturer: Modine
Model: 1-Stage GF/EF 018

by Geo-Connections, Inc.

SAVE

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The Sample Project

Add a New Zone

Buttons On This Page

NEW LOAD ESTIMATE Create new load estimate.

The load estimator is available in trial accounts however, you will

not actually be able to change your peak loading.

The load estimator tool is not designed for final projects.

It should only be used at the early stages of a design to estimate
final design costs.

Using the load estimator will lock your project to a single zone.

EDIT LOAD ESTIMATE Edit an existing load estimate.

DELETE LOAD ESTIMATE Delete an existing load estimate.

Correction Factors
Correction factors are not covered within this assignment but since, they are on this page we
wanted to at least acknowledge that this is where you will find them. To reveal the correction
factors, click the next to the section title.

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The Sample Project

Add a New Zone

Installed Capacity Check
The installed capacity check section of the Zone Details page contains output results for the heat
pump you have selected. All of the details about the manufacturers heat pumps are built into
Breeze GeoLoopField so you don’t have to look up the most recent specifications.

Check this area to make sure that your heat pump selection will meet the requirements of the
zone.

Zone Operating Summary and Operating Cost Breakdown

The zone operating summary will provide you with details about run time and energy use for this
particular zone. The operating cost breakdown furthers this information by showing you the
cost of operating the heat pump for this zone for 1 year.

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The Sample Project

Add a New Vertically Bored GHEX

Now that you have defined a zone we need to add the specifications for our ground heat exchanger. For
this project we will be using a vertically bored GHEX but once we are done, you can go back and experi-
ment with adding horizontally bored or horizontally trenched options to the design.

Click the button in your tool tray.

A dropdown list like the one shown on the right will

appear below your tool tray. Go ahead and select the Project
New Vertically Bored
New Vertically Bored option from the list.
New Summary
Project Horizontally Bored
HINT: In the future, if you click on the GHEX
Client Information
button by mistake, you can hide the dropdown New Horizontally Trenched
list by clicking anywhere else on the page. Project Details

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The Sample Project

Add a New Vertically Bored GHEX

Name: Vertical Bore 1

Average Formation Thermal Conductivity: 1.30 Btu/hr ft °F
Bore Diameter: 5.00 in
Bore Spacing: 20 ft
Layout Rows: 1x
Number of Bores in Series (NBIS): 1
Bores per Row: 3
Grout Thermal Conductivity: 0.57 Btu/hr ft °F
Pipe Diameter (Dp): 3/4 in

by Geo-Connections, Inc.

SAVE

Buttons On This Page

Opens Thermal Property Ranges of Selected Soils & Rocks table in a new
browser window.

GHEX Summary
The GHEX summary gives you an overview of the details for the GHEX design. The dominant
mode will be signified by a grey header.

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The Sample Project

Operating Cost Comparison

With your system details now fully defined for this project, it is
time we turned our attention to the economics of this solution. Economics
Click the Operating Cost Summary link from the right side bar
or from the Economics drop down in the main navigation. Operating Cost Summary
Cost of Ownership
NOTE: The list of Technologies to Compare on this page is
governed by which prices you entered on the project details page.

Technologies to Compare: Leave all checked

Renewable Electricity: Leave unchecked
ASHP (HSPF): 4.50
Natural Gas (AFUE): Default value
Propane (AFUE): Default value
Fuel Oil (AFUE): 80
A/C (SEER): 12
ASHP (SEER): 12

by Geo-Connections, Inc.

SAVE

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The Sample Project

Operating Cost Comparison

Buttons On This Page

Opens System Efficiencies tables for Gas and Oil Furnaces in a new browser
window

Annual Operating Cost and CO2 Emissions By Technology

At the bottom of the Operating Cost Summary page are two graphs. The first graph shows how
much it would theoretically cost to operate each of the selected systems annually.

The cost is based on the system

loads, the inputs you have
added on this page and the per
unit energy costs added on the
Project Details page.

If you don’t enter an energy

cost for a technology on the
Project Details page, it will not
appear as an option for com-
parison on this graph.

The second graph is an

estimate of upstream and
point of use CO2 emissions
of each technology per year.

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The Sample Project

Cost of Ownership
In addition to the Operating Cost comparison you just performed, Breeze GeoLoopField provides the
tools to do a complete life cycle calculation for a system and compare it against a single conventional
technology. The life cycle cost will take into account the initial installation costs as well as the equip-
ment replacement costs across 30 years accounting for normal rates of inflation.

For this assignment we will be comparing our GSHP system to a

Economics
Fuel Oil Furnace w/ A/C. Click on the Cost of Ownership
link to get started.
Operating Cost Summary
Cost of Ownership

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The Sample Project

Cost of Ownership
Conventional Heating & Cooling System: Fuel Oil Furnace w/ A/C
Retrofit: Leave unchecked
Fuel Oil Inflation Rate: 4.5%
Installation Cost: $15,000.00
Incentives: $0.00
Electric Inflation Rate: 3.0%
Installation Cost: $45,000.00
Incentives: $13,500.00
Home Purchase Price: $450,000.00
Mortgage Interest Rate: 5.0%
Down Payment: $90,000.00
Term: 30 years
by Geo-Connections, Inc.

SAVE

17
The Sample Project

Cost of Ownership
Account for System Life Cycle: Checked
Fuel Oil Furnace w/ A/C Service Life: 14 years
Fuel Oil Furnace w/ A/C Equipment Cost: 65% of Installation Cost
Fuel Oil Furnace w/ A/C Loan Interest Rate: Default
Fuel Oil Furnace w/ A/C Loan Term: 0 years
Fuel Oil Furnace w/ A/C Down Payments: $0.00
GSHP Service Life: 28 years
GSHP Equipment Cost: 35% of Installation Cost
GSHP Loan Interest Rate: Default
GSHP Loan Term: 0 years
GSHP Down Payments: $0.00

by Geo-Connections, Inc.

SAVE

The economics inputs are not always the best understood for system designers so now that you have
entered the data and saved the page, we’ll go through a short explanation of some of the inputs.

System Details
Retrofit: This check box toggles whether you are working with a new construction or an existing
home. The primary difference from the calculations point of view is whether or not the cost of
the system will be included in the mortgage or handled as a separate loan.

Fuel Inflation & Installation Costs

Fuel Inflation Rate: This information can normally be obtained through the local energy
provider. This is a rough estimate of the annual percentage of increase the price of fuel will
experience.

Installation Cost: This is the total cost for installing the system and should include plumbing,
duct work, equipment etc.

Incentives: There are often federal, state and even local government incentives for installing
energy efficient heating and cooling systems. These incentives are typically one time only savings
so later when we start to account for life cycle costs we don’t deduct these incentives from the
equipment cost.

Equipment Replacement Details

Service Life: We have provided the ASHRAE table of tested service life for multiple different
HVAC systems for your reference. As the footnote on the table states use this information with
caution a lot of the values are based on studies from 1978. The data for the 2005 study is still
pending but will be included in Breeze GeoLoopField as it becomes available.

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The Sample Project

Cost of Ownership

Equipment Replacement Details

Equipment Cost: This is the percentage of the original installation cost that just replacing the
equipment represents. Inflation is built into the calculations so you only need to figure out the
percentage based on the original cost.

Buttons On This Page

Opens Equipment Service Life Estimates in a new browser window

Project Summary
You have now completed all of the entries for the assignment.
Now lets generate a final report that is ready for printing. Click Reports
the Project Summary link on the right side bar.
Project Summary

Check each box to generate a full report. Then click GENERATE

GENERATE PDFPDF

The project summary is attached to the end of this document. You can further customize this
report with your logo or company name through the account settings page.

Congratulations! You just completed your first project design with Breeze GeoLoopField.

Text and imagery are Copyright © 2014 Geo-Connections Inc. used with permission by Modine.
Modine, Breeze and Breeze GeoLoopField and their associated marks are registered trademarks of Modine.
GEO72-932 19