I have many geothermal heating and cooling systems where I inspect in the northeast. Does anyone have a method of performing evaluation checks on these systems. I have been using the standard temperature differential on air supply/return but in a recent training session we were told that will not accurately indicate a fully functional system.
A geo system wears many hats but the heart of any geo system is the compressor and its refrigerated medium. There must be a transfer of heat from one medium to another and it really matters not what the medium is. As a HI there is no correct way to check a system for operation with out some test equipment. A Temp reading as close to the heat transfer as one can possibilly get and a good set of eyes to look for burnt wires or leaks is about as close as you can get with a visual inspection.
BTW whom was performing your training session they were very close to being correct;-)