“Free” heat and air conditioning
We have free heating and air conditioning in our dog kennel here in Stanstead, Quebec
Canada where we rise Golden Retrievers and sell quality puppies. We have been raising only Goldens since 1967 when we were living in Ohio and have introduced breeding stock form AKC, CKC and hunting Goldens to develop our line which has good looks, and is healthy and smart too.
We are in a valley and ran a gravity feed pipe down from a pond we built in a valley part way up the hill to our fields. Water is used not only for a water supply but when fed through plastic piping in the concrete floor with the turn of valve, to do radiant floor heating and air conditioning. The water in the pond never freezes in the bottom even though the ice may be 3’ thick, the pipe route is always at least 4’ or more below ground and even if outside it is 20 or 30 degrees below zero, the water coming into the building is still 40 degrees or more Fahrenheit and good enough to keep the kennel warm in winter or cool in summer. The amount of heating or cooling can be decided by the turn of valve. In the office part where we want it a bit warmer we can separate that loop with valves and run that line through an old electric water heater with a circulation pump controlled by an air temperature thermostat.
There is a trick to keeping the pipe in the pond from jamming or slowing down with debris, but that is another story, the solution of which we learned after several failed attempts.