Msc Thesis: 'An Investigation Into Ground Source Heat Pump
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MSc Thesis: ‘An Investigation into Ground Source Heat Pump Technology, its UK Market and Best Practice in System Design’ Pharoah Le Feuvre September 2007 Submitted in partial fulfilment with the requirements of the degree: MSc in Sustainable Engineering - Energy Systems & the Environment Department of Mechanical Engineering Energy Systems Research Unit (ESRU) Strathclyde University Supervisor: Dr Michaël Kummert Declaration of Author’s Rights: The copyright of this thesis belongs to the author under the terms of the United Kingdom Copyright Act as qualified by University of Strathclyde Regulation 3.50. Due acknowledgement must always be made of the use of any of the material contained in, or derived from, this thesis. ii Acknowledgements: I would like to offer thanks to the following for their valued contribution during the course of the project. Firstly Michael Kummert for supervising the study and offering astute advice and guidance, especially as regards establishing the TRNSYS model. To the CANMET Energy Technology Centre / Caneta Research Incorporated, Jeffrey D. Spitler of Oklahoma State University and those at BuildingPhysics.com for making their simulation tools available. Without which a large part of this project would not have been possible. To all of the respondents who took the time to complete and return my questionnaire, the answers to which where both interesting and informative. Finally I would like to thank the Strathclyde Collaborative Training Account for financial assistance which allowed me to undertake the course. iii Abstract: Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) technology has the potential to assist the UK government reduce CO 2 emissions associated with domestic space and water heating requirements. Only a very small number of these units are installed in the UK however. At levels far lower than in some other European nations. The running cost and CO 2 emissions reductions achievable by these systems will only be obtained if they are designed suitably to allow for efficient, reliable operation and competitive installation cost; therefore not damaging fragile customer confidence. This thesis aims to address the current status of the UK GSHP industry. By constructing case studies of the market in Austria, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland valuable comparison with the situation in the United Kingdom was obtained. A deeper investigation into the significance of UK specific market barriers followed, including the construction of a matrix to compare statistics from the five nations. To gain a greater insight from those involved in the UK GSHP industry a questionnaire was designed and circulated. In order to assess design best practice of vertical GSHPs borehole length sizing programmes were obtained and reviewed with performance analysis of various scenarios then undertaken using the simulation tool TRNSYS. From the market assessment it is shown that GSHP development in the UK is in the order of twenty years behind the other nations reviewed and receives lower levels of support from government and utilities. A significant inhibitor would appear to be the legacy of previous fossil fuel security in the UK. Feedback from the questionnaire suggested high capital costs were also a factor. Performance of the sizing tools varied, with several incidences of undersized boreholes according to the TRNSYS results. It is recognised that fully understanding the causes of these discrepancies will require further study. The significant influence of ground conditions on sizing was highlighted while distribution temperature of the heating system was concluded to be a bigger influence on system efficiency than ground temperature depletion. Financial viability varied with the base conditions specified in the analysis. It is hoped that this research has outlined factors in market stimulation and design which will facilitate growth of the UK GSHP market. iv Contents: Declaration of Author’s Rights ii Acknowledgments iii Abstract iv List of Figures 7 List of Tables 9 Introduction 10 Section 1. Heat Pump Technology Overview 13 1.1 Introduction 13 1.2 Thermodynamic Explanation 13 1.3 Low Temperature Heat Sources 17 1.4 Heat Pump Components 20 1.5 Refrigerants 23 1.6 Cooling 26 1.7 Operational Modes 28 1.8 Distribution System 29 1.9 CO 2 Savings and Miscellaneous Benefits 30 1.10 Electrical Requirements 32 1.11 Section Conclusion 33 Section 2. Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHPs) 34 2.1 Introduction 34 2.2 The Earth as a Heat Source 34 2.3 Direct and Indirect Systems 38 2.4 Ground Heat Exchangers 39 2.5 GSHP Applications 43 2.6 Section Conclusion 44 Section 3. Market Outline 45 3.1 Introduction 45 3.2 World and European Overview 45 3.3 Ground Source Heat Pumps in Austria – A Case Study 48 3.4 Ground Source Heat Pumps in Germany – A Case Study 52 3.5 Ground Source Heat Pumps in Sweden – A Case Study 54 3.6 Ground Source Heat Pumps in Switzerland – A Case Study 56 3.7 Comparisons with the UK Heat Pump Market 59 3.8 Section Conclusion 65 Section 4. UK Market Barriers 66 4.1 Introduction 66 4.2 Potential Market Barriers for GSHPs in the UK 66 4.3 No Barrier Argument 77 4.4 Overcoming Barriers – Market Growth Strategies 77 4.5 Barriers Comparison Matrix 79 4.6 Barriers Matrix Evaluation 84 4.7 Market Assessment Questionnaire Results and Discussion 86 4.8 Section Conclusion 89 Section 5. Ground Heat Exchanger Design Considerations 91 5.1 Introduction 91 5.2 The Importance of Correct Ground Heat Exchanger Sizing 91 5.3 Design Factors 92 5.4 Design Methods and Tools 94 5.5 Section Conclusion 96 5 Section 6. Sizing Software Overview 97 6.1 Introduction 97 6.2 Calculation Methods 97 6.3 GLHE-pro 99 6.4 GS2000 101 6.5 Earth Energy Designer (EED) 102 6.6 Other Software Packages 104 6.7 Feedback from Questionnaire Design Questions 106 6.8 Section Conclusion 108 Section 7. GSHP Sizing Software Case Study 109 7.1 Introduction 109 7.2 Key Objectives 109 7.3 Previous Related Research 110 7.4 TRNSYS 111 7.5 The Building 113 7.6 The Heat Pump 115 7.7 Variables and Fixed Inputs of the Model 116 7.8 Case Study Scenario One 116 7.9 Case Study Scenario Two 120 7.10 Case Study Scenario Three 123 7.11 Case Study Scenario Four 126 7.12 Case Study Scenario Five 128 7.13 COP Analysis 130 7.14 Possibility/Effects of Human Error in Simulation and Sizing Software 133 7.15 Financial Perspective 135 7.16 Sizing and Simulation Discrepancies Discussion 137 7.17 Section Conclusion 139 Section 8. Heating Demand and Financial Viability Case Study 141 8.1 Introduction 141 8.2 Model Parameters 141 8.3 Design Sizing 143 8.4 Simulation Results 143 8.5 Simulation Analysis 144 8.6 Financial Perspective 145 8.7 Section Conclusion 147 Section 9. Conclusion 148 9.1 Fundamental Aim 148 9.2 Literature Review 148 9.3 Market Evaluation 149 9.4 Design Analysis 151 9.5 A Role for GSHP Systems in the UK? 153 References 154 Appendix 161 6 List of Figures: No. Description Page 1 Basic Thermodynamic Premise of a Heat Pump 13 2a Carnot Cycle on a Temperature-Entropy (TS) Diagram 14 2b Components of the Cycle 14 3 Vapour Compression Cycle on a Pressure-Enthalpy Diagram 15 4 Liquid, Vapour and Mixed Zones 16 5 Heat Pump Performance for Different Source/Sink Temperatures 18 6 Air and Ground Temperature Comparison 19 7 Efficiency Vs Availability of Heat Sources 20 8 Efficiency for Different Types of Compressor 20 9 Heat Pump Cycle with Accumulator 22 10 Zeotropic Ammonia/Water Mix 25 11 Pressure / Enthalpy Diagram of a Near Azeotropic Blend 25 12 Function Diagram of a Reversible Heat Pump in Cooling Mode 27 13 Source and Output Temperatures Influence on COP 29 14 Carbon Dioxide Emissions for Different Fuel Use Efficiencies 31 15 Cost Comparison Example Using GSHPs 32 16 Example of a Typical Ground Temperature Profile 34 17 Varying Factors Affecting GSHP Installation and Performance 35 18 Factors Affecting Thermal Recharge 37 19 Temperature Recharge Isolines around a Vertical Borehole 38 20a Open Loop System Using Wells 40 20b Open Loop System Using a Pond 40 21 Series and Parallel Ground Loop Configurations 40 22 Trench Collector Systems 41 23a Vertical Heat Exchanger Pipe Configurations 42 23b Slinky Pipes in a Trench 42 24a Growth in World GSHP Utilisation as Reported at WGC 2005 45 24b Growth in World GSHP Capacity as Reported at WGC 2005 45 25 Heat Pump/GSHP Proportion European Comparison 47 26 Heat Pump Market Development in Austria 49 27 Breakdown of the Austrian Heating Heat Pump Market in 2001 50 28 Heat Pump Sales in Germany 1996-2002 by Heat Source 52 29 Heat Pump Sales in Germany 1978-2003 52 30 Heat Pump Sales in Sweden 1986-2004 55 31 GSHP Market Growth in Switzerland 1980-2002 by System Size 56 32 Energy Extraction of Borehole Systems in Switzerland 1979-1997 57 33 Low Grade Heat Production Sources in Switzerland 57 34 Estimated GSHP Market Growth in the UK 2000-2005 60 35 Approach to Limiting CO 2 Emissions Building Regulations 2006 63 36 Construction and Demolition Rates 1996-2000 68 37 UK Ground Temperatures at a Depth of 50m 70 38 Renewable Contribution to Electricity Generation in the UK 2005 71 39 Renewable Path for a 40% Reduction in Housing CO2 Emissions 72 40 Survey Answers on Main Reasons for Saving Energy in the Home 72 41a CO 2 Emissions from Each End Use 76 41b CO 2 Emissions from each use of Heat 76 42 Stages in Creating a Successful GSHP Market 77 43 Interaction of Different Parties in Developing a Heat Pump Market 78 44 Organisations who replied to the GSHP Questionnaire 86 45 Responses to Questionnaire Question One 87 7 46 Responses to Questionnaire Question Two 88