Liquid cooling system for outdoor surfaces

A liquid cooling system for an ice forming surface, said liquid cooling system comprising:

• a geothermal heat pump unit having an electrically-powered compressor and an expansion valve that interconnects a cold tube section and a hot tube section that together form a refrigeration circuit of the geothermal heat pump unit, the electrically-powered compressor configured to circulate a refrigerant through the cold and hot tube sections of the refrigeration circuit, the geothermal heat pump unit further comprising a housing that encloses the refrigeration circuit;
• a coolant line having a heat dispersion section and a heat absorption section connected together in a closed loop, the heat dispersion section extending through the housing of the geothermal heat pump unit and thermally coupled to the cold tube section of the refrigeration circuit with a liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger;
• a structure having an upward facing surface that is sloped at an inclined angle and configured to retain ice and/or snow,
• the heat absorption section of the coolant line disposed at the upward facing surface of the structure;
• a fluid pump configured to pump a non-toxic, water-based liquid coolant through the coolant line to circulatory transfer heat from the heat absorption section to the cold tube section to form or maintain ice and/or snow at the upward facing surface, the non-toxic, water-based liquid coolant having a temperature in the range of 8 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit when leaving the geothermal heat pump unit;
• and
• a valve assembly comprising a plurality of valves and coupled with the coolant line, wherein the coolant line includes (i) an upper line disposed at an upper portion of the upward facing surface and coupled with a first valve of the valve assembly and (ii) a lower line disposed at a lower portion of the upward facing surface and coupled with a second valve of the valve assembly, and wherein the valve assembly is configured to independently control fluid flow of the non-toxic, water-based liquid coolant through the upper line by actuating the first valve and through the lower line by actuating the second valve to thereby independently control temperature at the respective upper and lower portions of the upward facing surface.

A method of forming a cooled outdoor surface, said method comprising:

• providing an insulation substrate at an outdoor structure to form an upward facing surface that is configured to retain ice, snow, or a combination thereof;
• arranging a heat absorption section of a coolant line at the upward facing surface, wherein the heat absorption section of the coolant line includes (i) a first line disposed at a first portion of the upward facing surface and (ii) a second line disposed at a second portion of the upward facing surface;
• arranging a heat dispersion section of the coolant line at a cold tube section of a geothermal heat pump unit, the heat dispersion section and the heat absorption section connected together in a closed loop, the geothermal heat pump unit having an electrically-powered compressor and an expansion valve that interconnects the cold tube section and the hot tube section that together form a refrigeration circuit of the geothermal heat pump unit, the electrically-powered compressor configured to circulate a refrigerant through the cold and hot tube sections of the refrigeration circuit, the geothermal heat pump unit further comprising a housing that encloses the refrigeration circuit;
• and
• pumping a non-toxic, water-based liquid through the coolant line to transfer heat from the heat absorption section to the cold tube section and then recirculating to the heat absorption section to cool the upward facing surface of the outdoor structure to a desired temperature, the water-based liquid having a temperature in the range of 8 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit when leaving the geothermal heat pump unit, wherein the first line is coupled with a first valve of the valve assembly and the second line is coupled with a second valve of the valve assembly, and wherein the valve assembly is configured to independently control fluid flow of the non-toxic, water-based liquid through the first line by actuating the first valve and through the second line by actuating the second valve to thereby independently control temperature at the respective first and second portions of the upward facing surface.