The Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) is a promising technology alternative to traditional heat pumps for the air conditioning and heating of buildings. In particular the GSHPs with horizontal ground heat exchanger (GHX) could achieve good performance with lower installation costs compared to vertical GHX. In this work a numerical comparison among different depths of installation (1.5m – 2.0m – 2.5 m) of the ground coupled heat exchanger was performed. In particular the comparing parameters were: the heat flux exchanged between the heat exchanger and the ground; the system efficiency; the energy and installation costs in both heating and cooling periods of the year. The dependence from the ground thermal conductivity was investigated as well. In particular, the possibility to replace the ground around the tube with a filling material with a different thermal conductivity and heat capacity was evaluated, in order to improve the efficiency of the system. The investigation was performed for two possible utilizations: a single flat and a commercial building. As the South of Italy requires both heating and cooling, the systems were studied for both winter and summer operation. A cost analysis was performed as well to evaluate GSHP horizontal heat exchanger at the three depths considered in order to evaluate the benefits obtained. The results showed the dependence of the performance of the horizontal GSHP from these parameters, giving useful information both for designers and installers.
Computational Sensitivity Analysis of Horizontal Heat Exchangers for GSHPs
STARACE, Giuseppe;CONGEDO, Paolo Maria;COLANGELO, Gianpiero
2006-01-01
Abstract
The Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) is a promising technology alternative to traditional heat pumps for the air conditioning and heating of buildings. In particular the GSHPs with horizontal ground heat exchanger (GHX) could achieve good performance with lower installation costs compared to vertical GHX. In this work a numerical comparison among different depths of installation (1.5m – 2.0m – 2.5 m) of the ground coupled heat exchanger was performed. In particular the comparing parameters were: the heat flux exchanged between the heat exchanger and the ground; the system efficiency; the energy and installation costs in both heating and cooling periods of the year. The dependence from the ground thermal conductivity was investigated as well. In particular, the possibility to replace the ground around the tube with a filling material with a different thermal conductivity and heat capacity was evaluated, in order to improve the efficiency of the system. The investigation was performed for two possible utilizations: a single flat and a commercial building. As the South of Italy requires both heating and cooling, the systems were studied for both winter and summer operation. A cost analysis was performed as well to evaluate GSHP horizontal heat exchanger at the three depths considered in order to evaluate the benefits obtained. The results showed the dependence of the performance of the horizontal GSHP from these parameters, giving useful information both for designers and installers.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
