geothermal heat/cool

good day macho inspectors. i was trying to make some sense out of this geothermal heat/cool system which had piles of components and a myriad valves. i hate to simply state to the buyer that the SOP does not require me to inspect geo systems. i have quite limited knowledge in this area other then looking for leaks and affirming that the system does indeed produce heat and cool air. dont know anything about components like the item inside which resembled a compressor, and the large block of foam, presumably insulating some portion of the water lines (pics) im wondering what others say in regards to these systems…i mean those who do not possess the technical knowledge to provide more in depth data
thanks…input always appreciated
mike in MN

It appears to me what your looking at in the geothermal heat pump. This link may help since it has a diagram. http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.geothermal-pa.com/images/gshpc.giff&imgrefurl=http://geothermal-pa.com/&h=438&w=502&sz=26&tbnid=ItzYWlw6t_4QQM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=103&zoom=1&usg=__DBUQiFbiZw_Y4Aam0QVZ9beDpbE=&docid=M3q84ZAYrNGyUM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=y7dpUMXvOcTQiwLCu4CgBQ&ved=0CEEQ9QEwAg&dur=336

I always bring along an HVAC person when I have a geothermal system to be inspected. They are quite expensive a lot of the HVAC guys don’y necessarily have expertise in them either.

Yours looks kind of decrepit, at least around the coil enclosure. Do you know how old the system is? The second photo is the compressor and reversing valve for the heat pump.

thanks for the input…chuck home in built in '91, presuming unit to be the same age. rob thanks for the diagram i will be studying that along with other info i can find. since there was a water in and out in this system (an ive come across others in this area) i was presuming that the cold was simply obtained from the water temp from the ground…around 55 degrees…i have to try to understand why and how there is a condenser and evaporater involved. here i was thinking that the cool water simply moved through some system of coils or something .
thanks again input is valued

again…also looking for other folks’ wording of reporting on geo systems and to what extent you inspect
MN mike

Nope. These still use cyclic state transition of a refrigerant to move heat. It is however much more efficient to transfer heat to/from water than air. Also, the water at ground temperature is cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter than the ambient air temperature, which also make for much more efficient transfer of heat.

Waterfurnace has some good info as well

www.waterfurnace.com/