Another product of the race between rising energy costs, global warming, and rapidly improving technology is the GeoColumn, a hybrid HVAC system that claims to improve upon two proven, but not always perfect, heating and cooling technologies.

According to Construction Week Online , GeoColumn offers the benefits of direct-exchange ground-source heat exchangers that produce heat from the surrounding earth without the costly and difficult excavation or deep-well drilling that these systems normally require. In addition, it also promises the efficiency of heat pump systems, which frequently disappoint owners by failing to produce enough heat when temperatures fall too far.
Invented by GeoEnergy Enterprises , a start-up energy technology firm with a decade of ground-source experience, the GeoColumn is a self-contained ground-source heat pump that does not require ground water, water pumping, or anti-freeze agents to function. Unlike other ground source systems, it can be installed in a relatively small space for light commercial projects.
The GeoColumn comes housed in a sealed vessel. Inside this container, a gas heat-exchange medium circulates through coils of copper tubing submerged in ordinary, unconditioned water. The entire system is buried in a borehole 23 ft deep, which can be dug easily by light, truck-mounted drilling equipment.

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