Application of Thermal Labyrinth System to Reduce Heating and Cooling Energy Consumption

Minyeop Rim,Uk-Joo Sung,Taeyeon Kim

doi:10.3390/en11102762

Abstract

To reduce the energy consumption in buildings, modern buildings are increasingly becoming airtight. In these structures, the outdoor air is supplied inside through mechanical ventilation systems, which are essential for ensuring comfortable indoor air quality. However, these systems consume a considerable amount of energy in buildings. One potential solution is using a thermal labyrinth system, which is buried underneath the building. It can pre-cool or pre-heat the outdoor air through heat transfer with the surrounding soil. In this research, a number of case studies were conducted to optimize the thermal labyrinth design. The optimized thermal labyrinth system was derived using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. In addition, operation algorithms were developed for the efficient operation of the thermal labyrinth system in buildings. The results indicated that there were five operation modes, and the thermal labyrinth could be operated for seven months of the year. The energy reduction effects of the thermal labyrinth system were analyzed and were assessed by the transient system simulation (TRNSYS) tool. A 12% reduction in the annual heating and cooling energy was achieved by applying the thermal labyrinth system.

Highlights

As an increasing number of air-tight buildings are being constructed in order to save energy, optimum ventilation systems that allows the outdoor air into a building have become essential [1]
Assessment of the Heat Transfer Efficiency According to the Length of the Internal Thermal
The results indicated efficient developed, and its optimal operation mode was estimated

Summary

Introduction

As an increasing number of air-tight buildings are being constructed in order to save energy, optimum ventilation systems that allows the outdoor air into a building have become essential [1]. When the outdoor air is used to operate the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, the cooling or heating energy consumption in the building would increase in order to adjust the air temperature to a set point. To reduce the energy consumption, an energy-saving HVAC system is required. Energy-saving HVAC systems that use ground heat are mainly divided into tube-style (earth tube, earth tunnel, and earth-air-heat exchanger (EAHE)) and thermal labyrinth systems. Various studies have been conducted on the tube-style systems and verified its energy-saving effect [1,2]

Objectives

Results

Conclusion