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Factsheet Slinky Installation V5

Slinky ground arrays are recommended for ground source heat pump installations as they are more cost effective than other options like straight pipes. Slinkies can be installed vertically in trenches 300-400mm wide and 2m deep, or horizontally in trenches 1.2m wide and 1.2m deep. Trenches for slinkies or straight pipes should be separated by a minimum of 5m and 1m respectively. Slinkies absorb 1kW of energy from the ground for every 10m and do not need to be installed in straight trenches as long as separation distances are followed.

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89 views4 pages

Factsheet Slinky Installation V5

Slinky ground arrays are recommended for ground source heat pump installations as they are more cost effective than other options like straight pipes. Slinkies can be installed vertically in trenches 300-400mm wide and 2m deep, or horizontally in trenches 1.2m wide and 1.2m deep. Trenches for slinkies or straight pipes should be separated by a minimum of 5m and 1m respectively. Slinkies absorb 1kW of energy from the ground for every 10m and do not need to be installed in straight trenches as long as separation distances are followed.

Uploaded by

pusicantonije
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Factsheet

Slinky Installation V5 Page(s)

Slinky Installation

Ground source heat pumps absorb energy from the ground via buried heat exchangers.

Kensa recommends the use of slinky ground arrays as they are the most cost effective way of
installing ground arrays due to the fact that they reduce the amount of digging required. They
can be installed on their edge vertically or laid flat in the bottom of a trench horizontally.

Horizontally
installed
slinkies

Facts at a glance:
Horizontal Slinky Trenches—should be placed in a 1.2m wide by 1.2m deep trench.

Vertical Slinky Trenches—should be placed in a 300-400mm wide by 2m deep trench.

Separation Distances—each slinky trench should be separated by a minimum of 5m between centres.


Straight pipe 1m between centres.

Backfilling—trenches should be backfilled with sand over the slinky if the excavated earth contains sharp
flints or large clods of earth.

Energy Absorption—for every 10m of slinky 1kW of energy can be absorbed from the ground.

Trench Layout—trenches do not have to be straight, they can twist and turn as long as the 5m separation
distance is maintained.

0845 680 4328 | [email protected] | www.kensaheatpumps.com


Factsheet
Slinky Installation V5 Page(s)

Slinky Installation
The slinky, and its return pipe, is placed in the trench and carefully backfilled with the excavated
material, graded to remove any large or sharp stones. Where the excavated material consists of
large clods (which might leave air gaps around the pipes resulting in poor heat conduction) or
sharp flints (which could damage the slinky pipe) then sand should be used to backfill until the
slinky is covered, after which the excavated material can be used.

Pea gravel should only be used in slinky trenches which are being used as soakaways and only
after the slinky trench has been approximately half filled.

0845 680 4328 | [email protected] | www.kensaheatpumps.com


Factsheet
Slinky Installation V5 Page(s)
Straight pipe installation
As an alternative to slinkies, straight pipe can be used as the ground array. These are slightly
more efficient than slinkies however the cost and additional digging required far outweigh any
efficiency gains made. The amount of digging can increase by up to 5 times and hence the cost of
installation. There is no difference in the amount of ground required as the energy source, for
slinkies or straight pipe. Trenches do not have to be straight, they can twist and turn as long as the 1m
separation distance is maintained.

Kensa heat pumps can work with both types of ground array and we can supply both. However
due to the advantages of slinkies we would always recommend these.

Cross section of single pipe trench

Alternative plan of straight pipe layout


Plan of straight pipe layout

0845 680 4328 | [email protected] | www.kensaheatpumps.com


Factsheet
Slinky Installation V5 Page(s)

Slinky Installation

Garage Generic Slinky


Property
Layout
Heat Pump

Slinky straight header sections.


Manifold All header sections to be kept to the same
length. Supplied length is 25m

2.5m
From 5m Slinky coiled
boundary sections

Building
5m
1.

Slinky Layout

The coiled section of the slinkies should be installed with a minimum of 5 metres between each
slinky trench centre. This separation distance should be maintained at all times, even if the
slinkies bend or turn back on themselves.

The straight header sections of the slinky (in red on the drawing above) should be kept the same
length to ensure equal flow through each slinky. This can be achieved by coiling any excess
header pipe back into the header trench. It is possible to combine the header pipes into the same
header trench. However it is advised that the flow and return pipes are run down either side of
the trench.

Slinkies should be placed at a minimum of 2.5m from property boundaries and 1.5m from
buildings. Slinkies should be unrolled next to the trenches and it is advised that the return pipe is
cabled tied to the coils to improve the rigidity and aid manual handling. (Please see the Slinky
Installation Guide for further details).

0845 680 4328 | [email protected] | www.kensaheatpumps.com

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