Abstract
Ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) are one of the most widespread forms of geothermal energy technology. They utilise the near-constant temperature of the ground below the frost line to achieve energy-efficiencies two or three times that of conventional air-conditioners, consequently allowing a significant offset in electricity demand for space heating and cooling. Relatively mature GSHP markets are established in Europe and North America. GSHP implementation in Australia, however, is limited, due to high capital price, uncertainties regarding optimum designs for the Australian climate, and limited consumer confidence in the technology. Existing GSHP design standards developed in the Northern Hemisphere are likely to lead to suboptimal performance in Australia where demand might be much more cooling-dominated. There is an urgent need to develop Australia’s own GSHP system optimisation principles on top of the industry standards to provide confidence to bring the GSHP market out of its infancy. To assist in this, the Queensland Geothermal Energy Centre of Excellence (QGECE) has commissioned a fully instrumented GSHP experimental facility in Gatton, Australia, as a publically-accessible demonstration of the technology and a platform for systematic studies of GSHPs, including optimisation of design and operations. This paper presents a brief review on current GSHP use in Australia, the technical details of the Gatton GSHP facility, and an analysis on the observed cooling performance of this facility to date.
Highlights
This paper presents a brief review on current Ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) use in Australia, the technical details of the Gatton GSHP facility, and an analysis on the observed cooling performance of this facility to date
A ground source heat pump (GSHP), referred to as a geothermal heat pump (GHP), ground-coupled heat pump (GCHP), GeoExchanger, etc., is a heat pump system that utilizes the ground as a thermal energy reservoir
The Australian GSHP industry is urged to establish a set of its own optimisation principles, as the currently widely-used standards developed mainly in North America and Europe are likely to lead unoptimal designs in Australia’s practices
Summary
A ground source heat pump (GSHP), referred to as a geothermal heat pump (GHP), ground-coupled heat pump (GCHP), GeoExchanger, etc., is a heat pump system that utilizes the ground as a thermal energy reservoir. GSHPs achieve energy efficiencies or coefficients of performance (COPs) substantially better than air source air conditioning systems [1,2]. They are regarded as to be green energy technology. The system is fully instrumented, including all system temperatures and flows, and an array of thermocouples in the ground offset from the ground heat exchangers It is to our knowledge the most comprehensively measured GSHP system, providing a world-class research capability to validate GSHP thermal models and their use in optimising GSHP design and operation. The GSHP industry in Australia is subject to the same challenges as GSHPs elsewhere in the world, as well as particular local challenges and opportunities, most notably climate and climate variability, large demand for space cooling, low population density, expensive electricity, established mining and geotechnical industry, and local geological features
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