Abstract
A ground source heat pump system (GSHP) with a ground heat exchanger (GHE) is a renewable and green technology used for heating and cooling residential and commercial buildings. An innovative U-Tube pipe configuration is suggested to enhance the heat transfer rate in the vertical ground heat exchanger (VGHE). Laboratory experiments are conducted to compare the thermal efficiency of VGHEs with two different pipe configurations: (1) an innovative U-Tube pipe configuration (single U-Tube with two outer fins) and (2) a single U-Tube. The results show that the difference between the inlet and outlet temperatures for the innovative U-Tube pipe configuration was 0.7 °C after 60 h, while it was 0.4 °C for the single U-Tube after the same amount of time. The borehole thermal resistance for the innovative U-Tube pipe configuration was 0.680 m·K/W, which is 29.22% lower than that of the single U-Tube. The heat exchange rate in the innovative U-Tube pipe configuration is increased by 57.95% compared to the conventional single U-Tube. Measured ground temperatures indicate that compared to single U-Tube pipe configuration, the innovative U-Tube pipe configuration has superior heat transfer performance. Based on the experimental results presented in this paper, it was concluded that increasing the surface area significantly by introducing external fins to the U-Tube enhances the heat transfer rate, resulting in increased thermal efficiency of the VGHE.
Highlights
Introduction and BackgroundA ground source heat pump system (GSHP) is an ecofriendly technology utilized for heating and cooling houses and commercial buildings
The GSHP system is constructed by connecting a heat pump with a vertical ground heat exchanger (VGHE)
The results showed that the borehole thermal resistance of double U-Tube VGHE was lower than the single U-Tube VGHE [6]
Summary
A ground source heat pump system (GSHP) is an ecofriendly technology utilized for heating and cooling houses and commercial buildings. GSHP technology exploits the constant ground temperature over the year to extract heat from buildings and transfer it into the ground in summer, as well as to extract heat from the ground and transfer it into the buildings in winter [1,2]. The GSHP system is constructed by connecting a heat pump with a vertical ground heat exchanger (VGHE). The initial capital cost of installing the GSHP systems is a significant consideration in VGHE design
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