Patent ID: 7617697

Claim:
An in-ground geothermal heat exchange system comprising: a housing comprising a removable lid, the housing being sealed water-tight, reinforced to withstand ground force pressure, and positioned in a recess in surrounding ground having a regional frost line; a ground source heat pump disposed in the housing, comprising a heat exchanger, a compressor, a water pump, and a reversing valve, wherein the heat exchanger and the water pump are disposed in the housing below the regional frost line, and the compressor and the reversing valve are disposed in the housing above the regional frost line, each of the compressor and the reversing valve being positioned such that when the removable lid is removed from the housing, the compressor and the reversing valve are accessible from above the housing; a buried ground loop circuit comprising a portion disposed in the housing, wherein the portion in the housing is positioned entirely below the regional frost line and is in operable communication with the ground source heat pump, the buried ground loop circuit being adapted to collect and disburse ground source heat; an in-building heat exchanger disposed in a building; and an evaporative loop running from the ground source heat pump to the in-building heat exchanger.