Abstract
Usually thermal response tests are restricted to big geothermal projects; the high investment makes them less suitable for designing domestic low-enthalpy geothermal energy systems. The work here presented aims to study the influence of time reduction in thermal response tests on their precision. Due to the importance of the correct assessment of the thermal characterization of the ground for any kind of geothermal system, time reduction in this essay could make it more affordable to be implemented in some domestic systems. A thermal response test has been implemented, and several time intervals of the test have been considered in order to obtain different results for the thermal conductivity of the ground. The mentioned results have been then compared and also the domestic geothermal systems designed from them by the use of the geothermal software GES-CAL. Results have shown that, in some cases (our testing borehole has some singular characteristics), a significant time reduction in the data acquisition process of the thermal response test does not compromise seriously the precision of the results.
Highlights
The design process of low-enthalpy geothermal systems has undergone a continuous improvement process in the last few years [1,2,3,4]
This research aims to attempt to reduce the cost derived from the implementation of the thermal response test (TRT)
The thermal response test included in the present work has been performed in a borehole located in the center of Spain (Ávila)
Summary
The design process of low-enthalpy geothermal systems has undergone a continuous improvement process in the last few years [1,2,3,4]. From the correct assessment of the thermal needs to the selection of the heat pump or the design of the bore field, all of the key areas of the future system are improving at a fast rate nowadays. Ground characterization remains relatively underdeveloped for small domestic systems because of the high cost of the tests needed to be implemented, restricting the data collecting about ground thermal behavior to the research of databases [6] and the bibliographic study of the geological environment of the area. Efforts to reduce field testing costs would have a very positive effect on their inclusion in all designed low-enthalpy geothermal systems, including smaller scale ones. This research aims to attempt to reduce the cost derived from the implementation of the thermal response test (TRT)
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