An Analysis on Cost Reduction Potential of Vertical Bore Ground Heat Exchangers Used for Ground Source Heat Pump Systems

Conference · Fri Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 2019

OSTI ID:1502537

Liu, Xiaobing ^[1]; Polsky, Yarom ^[1]; Qian, Defeng ^[2]; Mcdonald, Joshua ^[3]

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1. ORNL
2. University of Alabama
3. University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK)

The cost for installing ground heat exchangers (GHXs) used for ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems usually accounts for more than 30% of the total cost of a GSHP system and it is the biggest contributor to the cost premium of GSHPs compared with conventional HVAC systems. This study evaluates the cost reduction potential of several possible improvements in borehole heat transfer and bore field layout. A detailed cost model for GHX installation was updated and new features were added to account for various GHX designs, geological conditions, and drilling technologies. Coupled with a well-established GHX sizing program, a systematic study was conducted to assess the impacts of these improvements on the needed total drilling length and resulting cost under various geological and loading conditions. Finally, improvements with significant potential to reduce GHX installation cost are recommended.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1502537
• Resource Type: Conference paper/presentation
• Conference Information: 2019 Stanford Geothermal Workshop 44th Annual Conference - Stanford, California, United States of America - 2/11/2019-2/13/2019
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English