Influence of system operation on the design and performance of a direct ground-coupled cooling system

Abstract

Sizing of borehole heat exchangers (BHEs) for direct ground cooling systems (DGCSs) is a critical part of the overall system design. This study investigates the thermal performance and sizing of a DGCS with two different operation strategies using experimental and simulation approaches. The traditional on/off operation strategy keeps a constant room temperature. The continuous operation strategy has the potential to reduce the building peak cooling loads by precooling the space and having a variable room temperature measures. The experimental results from the laboratory-scale setup show the differences in the hourly room heat extraction rates and the room temperature pattern for the operation strategies applied. The experimental data is also used to develop a simulation model. The simulation results show that applying the continuous strategy reduces the building peak cooling loads and lowers the heat injection rates to the ground. For new BHEs, applying the continuous strategy can result in shorter BHEs, owing to the significantly lower ground heat injection rates. For existing BHEs, applying the continuous strategy can decrease the borehole outlet fluid temperature and thus, increase the cooling capacity of the building cooling system. The findings of this study have implications for developing the widespread use of DGCSs.