A typical heating-only installation for a medium sized, new build detached house would need at least two narrow trenches, each 300 mm wide and 40 to 50 metres long and 1.8 metres deep. The trenches can be straight or curved and laid in any direction to suit your site, providing they are always a minimum of 5 metres apart. A standard excavator, such as the type used to dig conventional foundations and footings, can dig the trenches and backfill them after the ground loops have been installed. Your builder and/or digger driver will be able to do this work and plan it to ensure the minimum of disruption to your site. Once completed, and the ground loops pressure tested and buried, your renewable energy collection system can basically be forgotten. However, its location needs to be recorded to avoid accidentally digging it up! And the heat pump unit itself is about the size of a average fridge freezer.