Earth thermal storage for enhanced performance of air-to-air heat pumps

Conference · Sun Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1982 · Proc., Intersoc. Energy Convers. Eng. Conf.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5060833

Ternes, M P

The heat that exists naturally in the earth under a house with a crawl space may be used in the winter months to preheat the source air of an air-to-air heat pump. This allows the heat pump to operate in a climate more favorable than ambient and thus at a higher efficiency. In the past winter, a comprehensive, comparative test was begun to determine the net benefit of the concept. This test involves three identical unoccupied houses in the Knoxville area, two of which make use of the crawl space earth heat. The third house has a standard heat pump installation and serves as the control for the experiment. Results from the experiment for the past winter showed that dramatic improvements in the heat pump performance were obtained during mid-winter conditions. However, anomalies have precluded definitive conclusions. Additional work is being performed so that the improvement in the heat pump efficiency and the energy savings can be quantified.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-26
• OSTI ID: 5060833
• Report Number(s): CONF-820814-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Proc., Intersoc. Energy Convers. Eng. Conf.; (United States) Journal Volume: 4
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
151000 -- Geothermal Energy-- Direct Energy Utilization
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320101* -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Residential Buildings-- (-1987)
AIR SOURCE HEAT PUMPS
AMBIENT TEMPERATURE
BUILDINGS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
CONTROL
EFFICIENCY
ENERGY CONSERVATION
ENERGY STORAGE
GROUND SOURCE HEAT PUMPS
HEAT PUMPS
HEAT STORAGE
HOUSES
PERFORMANCE
RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
STORAGE
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
TEMPERATURE CONTROL
THERMAL EFFICIENCY