Abstract
This paper evaluates the energy performance of ground-source variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems to condition office buildings located in various U.S. climates. Specifically, the performance of the ground-source VRF systems was determined and evaluated against that achieved by conventional space heating and cooling systems, including packaged terminal air-conditioners (PTACs), water-source heat pumps (WSHPs), ground-source heat pumps (GSHPs), and water-source VRF systems. A comparative analysis shows that ground-source VRF systems require significantly lower source energy uses than other heating and cooling systems in all U.S. climates, ranging from 21% to 50% for PTACs, from 36% to 52% for WSHPs, from 22% to 49% for GSHPs, and from 4% to 19% for water-source VRFs. These results indicate that ground-source VRFs can be suitable heating and cooling systems for all U.S. climates when designing high-energy-performance commercial buildings.
Highlights
According to the U.S Energy Information Administration (EIA), the energy use and electricity consumption by the building sector accounted for 39% and 74% of, respectively, the total U.S energy use and the total U.S electricity consumption during 2016 [1]
Ground-source systems (i.e., ground-source heat pumps (GSHPs) and GS-variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems) required less energy to heat and cool the office building when compared to water-source systems (i.e., water-source heat pumps (WSHPs) and Water-Source VRF (WS-VRF))
The purpose of the study summarized in this paper was to evaluate the energy performance of ground-source VRF (GS-VRF) systems when compared to various other HVAC systems suitable to heat and cool office buildings located in representative U.S climates
Summary
According to the U.S Energy Information Administration (EIA), the energy use and electricity consumption by the building sector accounted for 39% and 74% of, respectively, the total U.S energy use and the total U.S electricity consumption during 2016 [1]. Historical EIA data indicate that the energy consumption attributed to heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems can be significant. The average energy consumption for HVAC systems accounts for 44% of the total U.S building energy use [2]. HVAC systems were responsible for, respectively, 18% and 31% of the total national energy and electricity consumption during 2016. There is a need to utilize energy-efficient HVAC systems in order to reduce the energy consumption and the carbon footprint of the building sector in the United States, and worldwide. A VRF system is a heat pump system that utilizes a refrigerant as a heat transfer medium between a single condensing unit and multiple air terminal units. The documented attractive benefits of VRF systems include the following:
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