This maybe a little out there but I'll ask anyway. We have been thinking about getting a geo-thermal system for our home and I stated thinking of better ways and wondered why A septic tank is never incorporated into the design other than the obvious answer. I know our family of four uses alot of hot water every day on average 4 showers,a load of dishes,laundry,washing hands. why cant all that hot water be used to help heat the loop instead of wasted down the drain? I know the tank will usually melt several inchs of snow in the winter time so it must be warm in there. Seems like I heard that the process of braking everything down in there also produces heat. I'm not saying it would eliminate the loop needed just help supplement it. Maybe a shorter loop or shorter run times for the geo-thermal unit. Is this something that has been thought/tried before or is there something I dont realize that would make this impossible? Seems like the tank could easily be insulated before or during an install to help hold in the heat.
Crazy Geo-Thermal Idea
- Thread starter afish
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Note to self; don't respond to leaking geo-thermal loop at afish's house.
I don't know, but would guess that there is some code about keeping those systems separate. But, if you were building a system from scratch, you could cirle the septic tank with a loop or three....
jb
I don't know, but would guess that there is some code about keeping those systems separate. But, if you were building a system from scratch, you could cirle the septic tank with a loop or three....
jb
Tig
Veteran Member
I have heard of heat recovery from waste water but never from the actual septic tank. There cetainly is heat in the tank.
Brad_Blazer
Veteran Member
Sounds like a good idea. Put the septic loop after the ground loop to get the most out of warmest part and also to keep from overcooling the septic tank. You sure don't want it to freeze. In summer reverse the flow or bypass the septic loop if there is any foreseeable problem with heating up the septic tank.
woodlandfarms
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There is some sort of heat generated out of septic but I am not sure how much. Family of 4, lots of cold water coming in from flushes, septic tank underground. Cannot imagine it is very much. I guess I could put the wifes turkey thermometer in the system but.... We all know how that would end...
Kind of a side note, this guy in Austin is using his air conditioner to heat his pool.. Instead of a fan and a heat exchanger on the roof, he put it in his pool. Works like a charm, and thus he has one of the highest seer rated homes in the world...
A big side note. The "experts (people who desing high seer homes)" are now more concerned with cooling than heating, and that the US uses some astronomical amount of energy to cool compared to heat. Heating is much more energy efficient than current cooling methods. I put this out there because I never thought of energy this way, but in looking at the bills, it really makes sense. I spend way more in the summer than in the winter...
Kind of a side note, this guy in Austin is using his air conditioner to heat his pool.. Instead of a fan and a heat exchanger on the roof, he put it in his pool. Works like a charm, and thus he has one of the highest seer rated homes in the world...
A big side note. The "experts (people who desing high seer homes)" are now more concerned with cooling than heating, and that the US uses some astronomical amount of energy to cool compared to heat. Heating is much more energy efficient than current cooling methods. I put this out there because I never thought of energy this way, but in looking at the bills, it really makes sense. I spend way more in the summer than in the winter...
I'm sure there are all sorts of building codes concerning this, but when I was in HVAC we sold a product for waste heat recovery-- a double-wall vented heat exchanger that would capture waste heat from grey water (before entering septic system).
Had a customer who cobbled together a system using an old evaporator coil submerged in a 55-gallon drum into which waste water from sinks drained before leaving the building via the normal route.
Careful-- kitchen/dishwasher waste water often contains grease, which, when exposed to cold incoming water will congeal & plug things up-- better to stick with shower discharge, maybe....
You can also purchase a desuperheater coil to add on to an existing (central) AC system, which works well to pre-heat incoming cold water before going into the DHW heater, with the added benefit of keeping compressor head pressure down.
Had a customer who cobbled together a system using an old evaporator coil submerged in a 55-gallon drum into which waste water from sinks drained before leaving the building via the normal route.
Careful-- kitchen/dishwasher waste water often contains grease, which, when exposed to cold incoming water will congeal & plug things up-- better to stick with shower discharge, maybe....
You can also purchase a desuperheater coil to add on to an existing (central) AC system, which works well to pre-heat incoming cold water before going into the DHW heater, with the added benefit of keeping compressor head pressure down.
Bill Barrett
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Been thought of, been done. Against code, and screws up the anaerobic digestion so I've been told.
sunspot
Gold Member
I remember a guy in Orlando doing that 30+ years ago. He wanted his pool a bit warmer. It worked and as a side benefit, his electric bill went down a good bit.
AlanB
Elite Member
Could you do a "tank in tank" type system.
Inside tank would be your standard septic tank, outside tank would be oversised, like a dual wall petroleum tank.
Lay your pex or whatever heat transfer tubing in the outer tank and fill with some kind of magic heat transfer substance? Treated water maybe or some form of gel?
Inside tank would be your standard septic tank, outside tank would be oversised, like a dual wall petroleum tank.
Lay your pex or whatever heat transfer tubing in the outer tank and fill with some kind of magic heat transfer substance? Treated water maybe or some form of gel?
dirtworksequip
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AK, once you sucked all the heat out of the septic tank you would have one huge poopsicle and back up into the house.
Better yet..............why not layout a burried geo field and then cover it with 3 or 4 feet of mulch. As the mulch breaks down it will transfer some of it's heat to the ground. Which should help out with how it performs in the winter months.
Sincerely, Dirt
Better yet..............why not layout a burried geo field and then cover it with 3 or 4 feet of mulch. As the mulch breaks down it will transfer some of it's heat to the ground. Which should help out with how it performs in the winter months.
Sincerely, Dirt
