Horizontal ground heat exchangers and solar thermal collectors as heat source for highly efficient heat pump systems

Contact
Dipl.-Ing. Fabian Hüsing
Tel.: +49 (0)5151-999 647
E-Mail: huesing@isfh.de

Systemkonzept einer solarthermischen Regeneration von Erdwärmekollektoren
Numerical computation of the temperature distribution and soil freezing around one heat exchanger tube. Soil moisture is frozen due to heat extraction (left side) and effectively unfrozen by external heat supply.

Horizontal ground heat exchangers (HGHX) lead to a higher efficiency of heat pumps than air heat exchangers and have a lower installation effort compared to borehole heat exchangers. However, due to their high site area demand, HGHX are still less attractive if compared to other heat pump sources. In cooperation with tewag GmbH and the Bundesverband Wärmepumpe (German Federal Association of Heat Pump Industry) the combination of HGHX and solar thermal collectors is going to be investigated at ISFH. The currently running project, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, aims to minimize the site area required for HGHX while the system’s efficiency will be maintained, in order to increase the attractiveness of HGHX for single- and multi-family houses. Unlike borehole heat exchangers, HGHX have less restrictions on the fluid inlet temperature. Thus, the latent heat of the surrounding soil may be used as a reservoir, which can effectively be charged by solar thermal energy. First investigations indicate that a space reduction of at least 50% compared to conventionally dimensioned systems seems to be possible. This subject will therefore be investigated using different types of solar thermal collectors and system schemes. First of all, a new HGHX model will be developed and validated at the experimental facility of ISFH. This model will, in contrast to existing models, include the dynamic behavior of the fluid volume and HGHX edge effects. Subsequently, system simulations in TRNSYS as well as experimental investigations are supposed to identify the limits of space reduction for HGHX. Finally, simplified design rules will be released in order to enable the design of solar regenerated HGHX. Final workshop: “Ground heat exchangers and solar collectors as optimized bivalent source for highly efficient heat pump systems” on 28.02.2018

Downloads

Hauke Hirsch; Oliver Mercker; Gunter Rockendorf: Erdwärmekollektoren in Kombination mit Solarkollektoren als Quelle für Wärmepumpensysteme. OTTI-Tagungsband zum 14. Internationalen Anwenderforum Oberflächennahe Geothermie, Neumarkt, Juni 2015

Hauke Hirsch; Fabian Hüsing; Gunter Rockendorf: Modellierung oberflächennaher Erdwärmeübertrager für Systemsimulationen in TRNSYS. Proceedings zum Central European Symposium on Building Physics 2016/BauSIM 2016, Dresden, September 2016

Fabian Hüsing; Hauke Hirsch; Gunter Rockendorf: Combination of Solar Thermal Collectors and Horizontal Ground Heat Exchangers as Optimized Source for Heat Pumps. Conference Proceedings, EuroSun 2016, Palma de Mallorca, Oktober 2016

Hauke Hirsch; Fabian Hüsing; Gunter Rockendorf: Erdwärmekollektoren in Kombination mit Solarkollektoren als Quelle für Wärmepumpensysteme. Ausführliches Skript zum 26. Symposium Thermische Solarenergie, Bad Staffelstein, April 2016

Fabian Hüsing; Oliver Mercker; Hauke Hirsch; Jan Steinweg: Solare Regeneration von Erdwärmekollektoren – Reduzierter Flächenbedarf bei hoher Effizienz. Ausführliches Skript zum 27. Symposium Thermische Solarenergie, Bad Staffelstein; Mai 2017

Fabian Hüsing; Oliver Mercker: Energieversorgung im Einfamilienhaus mittels Wärmepumpe, horizontalen Erdwärmekollektoren und photovoltaisch-thermischen Solarkollektoren. Tagungsband zur 1. Regenerativen Energietechnik-Konferenz RET.CON 2018, Nordhausen, Februar 2018

Project partner

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Industry partner

Duration

01.02.2015 – 31.01.2018

Final report

The final report of the project can be found here!

Funding

The project ‘Horizontal ground heat exchangers and solar thermal collectors as heat source for highly efficient heat pump systems’ (FKZ 03ET1275A) is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy based on a decision by the German federal Parliament.

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