Annual performance of a horizontal-coil ground-coupled heat pump

Conference · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1986 · ASHRAE Trans.; (United States)

OSTI ID:7242191

Johnson, W S; McGraw, B A; Conlin, F; Wix, S D; Baugh, R N

Performance of the ground-coupled heat pump system located in TECH House I at the University of Tennessee has been measured for the 1983-84 cooling and heating seasons. Hourly measurements of heat flows, power consumptions, and various ground, space, and system temperatures have been recorded and analyzed to give overall seasonal performance. For the heating season, the performance factor was found to be 2.6, which is higher than a typical air-air system. However, performance factor for the cooling season was determined to be only 1.1, considerably lower than a typical air-air system. Reasons for this low performance in the cooling mode include poor backfilling procedure when the ground coil was buried, soil drying, and possibly too short a ground coil. Also, the heat pump system itself had a low coefficient of performance for cooling compared to other high-efficiency systems. Future work on this project will involve reinstallation of a longer ground coil with better backfill, the installation of a ground irrigation system, a more efficient heat pump, and eventually the optimization of the ground coil and heat pump system.

• Research Organization: The Univ. of Tennessee Energy, Environment, and Resources Center
• OSTI ID: 7242191
• Report Number(s): CONF-860106-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: ASHRAE Trans.; (United States) Journal Volume: 92:1A
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320100* -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Buildings
COOLING LOAD
DESIGN
EFFICIENCY
GROUND SOURCE HEAT PUMPS
HEAT EXCHANGERS
HEAT PUMPS
HEATING LOAD
HOURLY VARIATIONS
IRRIGATION
MEASURING METHODS
MECHANICS
OPTIMIZATION
PERFORMANCE
SEASONAL VARIATIONS
SOIL MECHANICS
SOIL-STRUCTURE INTERACTIONS
THERMAL EFFICIENCY
VARIATIONS