Energies 2015, 8(8), 7752-7776; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8087752
An Environmental and Economic Assessment for Selecting the Optimal Ground Heat Exchanger by Considering the Entering Water Temperature
Department of Architectural Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul 120-749, Korea
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Hossam A. Gabbar
Received: 29 June 2015 / Revised: 23 July 2015 / Accepted: 23 July 2015 / Published: 29 July 2015
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Conservation in Infrastructures)
Abstract
In order to solve environmental problems such as global warming and resource depletion in the construction industry, interest in new renewable energy (NRE) systems has increased. The ground source heat pump (GSHP) system is the most efficient system among NRE systems. However, since the initial investment cost of the GSHP is quite expensive, a feasibility study needs to be conducted from the life-cycle perspective. Meanwhile, the efficiency of GSHP depends most significantly on the entering water temperature (EWT) of the ground heat exchanger (GHE). Therefore, this study aims to assess the environmental and economic effects of the use of GHE for selecting the optimal GHE. This study was conducted in three steps: (i) establishing the basic information and selecting key factors affecting GHE performances; (ii) making possible alternatives of the GHE installation by considering EWT; and (iii) using life-cycle assessment and life-cycle cost, as well as comprehensive evaluation of the environmental and economic effects on the GHE. These techniques allow for easy and accurate determination of the optimal design of the GHE from the environmental and economic effects in the early design phase. In future research, a multi-objective decision support model for the GSHP will be developed. View Full-TextKeywords:
ground source heat pump; ground heat exchanger; entering water temperature; life-cycle assessment; life-cycle cost
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Kim, J.; Hong, T.; Chae, M.; Koo, C.; Jeong, J. An Environmental and Economic Assessment for Selecting the Optimal Ground Heat Exchanger by Considering the Entering Water Temperature. Energies 2015, 8, 7752-7776.
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