An economic and technical feasibility analysis of a dual-source heat pump using both the air and the ground

Journal Article · Tue Nov 11 00:00:00 EST 2025 · Energy and Buildings

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116713· OSTI ID:3004288

Anees, Fady ^[1]; Shen, Bo ^[2]; Anand, Jyothis ^[2]; Liu, Xiaobing ^[2]

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1. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
2. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

The study investigates the economic and technical performance of a novel dual-source heat pump (DSHP) compared with that of air-source heat pumps (ASHPs) and ground-source heat pumps (GSHPs). The DSHP can use both ambient air and the ground as a heat source or heat sink. It uses ambient air when its temperature is favorable for efficient heat pump operation. When the ambient temperature is too hot or cold, the ground source is used to retain high-efficiency heat pump operation. Since the DSHP can alternately use either the ground heat exchanger (GHE) or ambient air to meet the thermal load, the required size of GHE can be smaller than those of GSHPs. This study models the DSHP using a whole building energy simulation tool (EnergyPlus) coupled with a Python plug-in and Heat Pump Design Model (HPDM) to simulate its heating and cooling performance for a typical single-family home in 15 US climate zones. The required GHE size of the DSHP system is determined through simulations and compared with that of GSHPs. DSHP deployment can reduce electricity use compared to ASHPs, especially in cold climates where it shows a reduction of around 50%. When compared to GSHPs, DSHPs use 20%–40% more electricity in warm climates but consume around the same amount in moderate and colder climates. Since the DSHP can use air source when the ambient temperature is mild, the GHE size needed for the DSHP is about 40% less than that needed for GSHPs in hot climates and about 25% less in cold climates. In conclusion, the life cycle cost analysis shows that the DSHP is economically more feasible than ASHPs in colder regions and economically more feasible than GSHPs in hot and cold regions.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Geothermal Technologies Office
• Grant/Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 3004288
• Journal Information: Energy and Buildings, Journal Name: Energy and Buildings Vol. 351; ISSN 0378-7788
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

Dual-source heat pumps
Economic feasibility
Energy efficiency
Ground heat exchanger
Integrate air- and ground-source