Thermodynamic Performance Analysis of High Thermal Conductivity Materials in Borehole Heat Exchangers in the European Climate
While heat pumps have been acknowledged as a key enabling technology to achieve Net Zero goals, their uptake is limited by their performance and cost. In this paper, a simulation-based study is conducted to analyse the performance of ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) utilising high thermal conductivi...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-09-01
|
| Series: | Buildings |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/9/2276 |
| _version_ | 1797580925686513664 |
|---|---|
| author | Sanober Khattak Borja Badenes Javier Urchueguia Burkhard Sanner |
| author_facet | Sanober Khattak Borja Badenes Javier Urchueguia Burkhard Sanner |
| author_sort | Sanober Khattak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | While heat pumps have been acknowledged as a key enabling technology to achieve Net Zero goals, their uptake is limited by their performance and cost. In this paper, a simulation-based study is conducted to analyse the performance of ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) utilising high thermal conductivity materials for the borehole heat exchanger (BHE) pipe (1 W/mK) and grouting (3 W/mK) developed in the GEOCOND project. Exergy analysis is conducted to account for energy quantity and quality with a focus on BHE performance. An annual hourly simulation was performed using DesignBuilder V5.4 and Earth Energy Designer (EED4) for representative cool and hot locations in Europe—Stockholm and Valencia, respectively. For a constant BHE length, the results for Stockholm show that the high conductivity materials result in an increase of about 13% BHE exergy extraction compared to the standard grout and pipe, but no such improvement was observed for Valencia. The difference between outdoor temperature and its dynamic variation from the indoor setpoint is identified as a key factor in the overall GSHP exergetic performance. In future research, we propose a thorough life cycle analysis across diverse locations and varying indoor comfort criteria to pinpoint areas where the high thermal conductivity material can enable cost-effective, sustainable heating and cooling. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:58:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-24b317284e6a4804867b2e2f822c2a8c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-5309 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:58:01Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Buildings |
| spelling | doaj.art-24b317284e6a4804867b2e2f822c2a8c2023-11-19T09:51:48ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092023-09-01139227610.3390/buildings13092276Thermodynamic Performance Analysis of High Thermal Conductivity Materials in Borehole Heat Exchangers in the European ClimateSanober Khattak0Borja Badenes1Javier Urchueguia2Burkhard Sanner3School of Engineering and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Media, De Montfort University, Leicester LE1 9BH, UKInformation and Communication Technologies versus Climate Change (ICTvsCC), Institute of Information and Communication Technologies (ITACA), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera S/N, 46022 Valencia, SpainInformation and Communication Technologies versus Climate Change (ICTvsCC), Institute of Information and Communication Technologies (ITACA), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera S/N, 46022 Valencia, SpainUBeG GbR, 35580 Wetzlar, GermanyWhile heat pumps have been acknowledged as a key enabling technology to achieve Net Zero goals, their uptake is limited by their performance and cost. In this paper, a simulation-based study is conducted to analyse the performance of ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) utilising high thermal conductivity materials for the borehole heat exchanger (BHE) pipe (1 W/mK) and grouting (3 W/mK) developed in the GEOCOND project. Exergy analysis is conducted to account for energy quantity and quality with a focus on BHE performance. An annual hourly simulation was performed using DesignBuilder V5.4 and Earth Energy Designer (EED4) for representative cool and hot locations in Europe—Stockholm and Valencia, respectively. For a constant BHE length, the results for Stockholm show that the high conductivity materials result in an increase of about 13% BHE exergy extraction compared to the standard grout and pipe, but no such improvement was observed for Valencia. The difference between outdoor temperature and its dynamic variation from the indoor setpoint is identified as a key factor in the overall GSHP exergetic performance. In future research, we propose a thorough life cycle analysis across diverse locations and varying indoor comfort criteria to pinpoint areas where the high thermal conductivity material can enable cost-effective, sustainable heating and cooling.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/9/2276ground source heat pumpsexergy analysislow carbon heatingNet Zerobuildings energy modelling |
| spellingShingle | Sanober Khattak Borja Badenes Javier Urchueguia Burkhard Sanner Thermodynamic Performance Analysis of High Thermal Conductivity Materials in Borehole Heat Exchangers in the European Climate Buildings ground source heat pumps exergy analysis low carbon heating Net Zero buildings energy modelling |
| title | Thermodynamic Performance Analysis of High Thermal Conductivity Materials in Borehole Heat Exchangers in the European Climate |
| title_full | Thermodynamic Performance Analysis of High Thermal Conductivity Materials in Borehole Heat Exchangers in the European Climate |
| title_fullStr | Thermodynamic Performance Analysis of High Thermal Conductivity Materials in Borehole Heat Exchangers in the European Climate |
| title_full_unstemmed | Thermodynamic Performance Analysis of High Thermal Conductivity Materials in Borehole Heat Exchangers in the European Climate |
| title_short | Thermodynamic Performance Analysis of High Thermal Conductivity Materials in Borehole Heat Exchangers in the European Climate |
| title_sort | thermodynamic performance analysis of high thermal conductivity materials in borehole heat exchangers in the european climate |
| topic | ground source heat pumps exergy analysis low carbon heating Net Zero buildings energy modelling |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/9/2276 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sanoberkhattak thermodynamicperformanceanalysisofhighthermalconductivitymaterialsinboreholeheatexchangersintheeuropeanclimate AT borjabadenes thermodynamicperformanceanalysisofhighthermalconductivitymaterialsinboreholeheatexchangersintheeuropeanclimate AT javierurchueguia thermodynamicperformanceanalysisofhighthermalconductivitymaterialsinboreholeheatexchangersintheeuropeanclimate AT burkhardsanner thermodynamicperformanceanalysisofhighthermalconductivitymaterialsinboreholeheatexchangersintheeuropeanclimate |