Feasibility study on novel hybrid ground coupled heat pump system with nocturnal cooling radiator for cooling load dominated buildings

When the ground coupled heat pump (GCHP) system is utilized for air conditioning in cooling load dominated buildings, the heat rejected into ground will accumulate around the ground heat exchangers (GHE) and results in system performance degradation. A novel hybrid ground coupled heat pump (HGCHP) system with nocturnal cooling radiator (NCR) works as supplemental heat rejecter is proposed in this paper to resolve this problem. The practical analytical model of NCR and novel HGCHP system are established. The computer program based on established model is developed to simulate the system operation performance. The novel HGCHP system is designed and simulated for a sample building located in Hong Kong, and a simple life cycle cost comparisons are carried out between this system and conventional GCHP system. The results indicate that it is feasible to use NCR serves as supplemental heat rejecter of the novel HGCHP system for cooling load dominated buildings even those located in humid subtropical climate areas. This novel HGCHP system provides a new valuable choice for air conditioning in cooling load dominated buildings, and it is especially suitable for buildings with limited surface land areas.     

Study on hybrid ground-coupled heat pump system for air-conditioning in hot-weather areas like Hong Kong

The ground-coupled heat pump (GCHP) system is becoming attractive for air-conditioning in some moderate-weather regions due to its high energy efficiency and reliable operation capability. However, when the technology is used in buildings where there is only cooling load in hot-weather areas like Hong Kong, the heat rejected into the ground by the GCHP systems will accumulate around the ground heat exchangers (GHE). This heat accumulation will result in degradation of system performance and increment of system operating costs. This problem can be resolved by using the hybrid ground-coupled heat pump (HGCHP) system, which uses supplemental heat rejecters to reject the accumulated heat. This paper presents a practical hourly simulation model of the HGCHP system by modeling the heat transfer process of the system’s main components. The computer program based on this hourly simulation model can be used to calculate the hour-by-hour operation data of the HGCHP system. As a case study, both a HGCHP system and a traditional GCHP system are designed for a hypothetic private residential building located in Hong Kong, and the economic comparisons are conducted between these two types of systems. The simulation results show that the HGCHP system can effectively solve the heat accumulation problem and reduce both the initial costs and operating costs of the air-conditioning system in the building.     

别墅型建筑地源热泵空调系统设计

地源热泵是一种利用土壤所储藏的太阳能资源作为冷热源进行能量转换的供暖制冷空调系统,通过输入少量的高品位能源(如电力、机械功、燃气和液体燃料),实现热量从低温热源向高温热源的转移.以上海某小型别墅为对象,设计了一套家用地源热泵空调系统.首先计算了夏季冷负荷和冬季热负荷,然后根据冷、热负荷选择一套水源热泵机组(MWH080CR型机组)和相应的风机盘管,进行了室内水管环路系统、土壤热交换器和地板采暖的设计选型,最后对系统的能效比进行了计算.结果表明,该空调系统具有节能环保、稳定可靠、舒适耐用等优点.     

Soil temperature distribution around a U-tube heat exchanger in a multi-function ground source heat pump system

The imbalance of heat extracted from the earth by the underground heat exchangers in winter and ejected into it in summer is expected to affect the long term performance of conventional ground source heat pump (GSHP) in territories with a cold winter and a warm summer such as the middle and downstream areas of the Yangtze River in China. This paper presents a new multi-function ground source heat pump (MFGSHP) system which supplies hot water as well as space cooling/heating to mitigate the soil imbalance of the extracted and ejected heat by a ground source heat pump system. The heat transfer characteristic is studied and the soil temperature around the underground heat exchangers are simulated under a typical climatic condition of the Yangtze River. A three-dimensional model was constructed with the commercial computational fluid dynamics software FLUENT based on the inner heat source theory. Temperature distribution and variation trend of a tube cluster of the underground heat exchanger are simulated for the long term performance. The results show that the soil temperature around the underground tube keeps increasing due to the surplus heat ejected into the earth in summer, which deteriorates the system performance and may lead to the eventual system deterioration. The simulation shows that MFGSHP can effectively alleviate the temperature rise by balancing the heat ejected to/extracted from underground by the conventional ground source heat pump system. The new system also improves the energy efficiency.     

Performance improvement of a 70 kWe natural gas combined heat and power (CHP) system

Combined heat and power is the simultaneous production of electricity and heat. CHP plants produce energy in an efficient way. A natural gas CHP system based on an internal combustion engine (ICE) is described, which has been set up at the Building Energy Research Center in Beijing, China. The system is composed of an ICE, a flue gas heat exchanger, a jacket water heat exchanger and other assistant facilities. The ICE generates power on-site, and the exhaust of the ICE is recovered by the flue gas heat exchanger, and the heat of the engine jacket is recovered by the jacket water heat exchanger to district heating system. In order to improve the performance of the system, an absorption heat pump (AHP) is adopted. The exhaust of the ICE drives the AHP to recover the sensible and latent heat step by step, and the temperature of the exhaust could be lowered to below 30 °C. In this paper, the performance of the new system were tested and compared with conventional cogeneration systems. The results show that the new CHP system could increase the heat utilization efficiency 10% compared to conventional systems in winter. All the results could be valuable references for the improvement of the CHP system.     

Economic comparison of solar-assisted heat pumps

A study of the economic performance of a solar system, air-to-air heat pumps, and several solar-assisted heat pump systems (SAHP) for residential heating is presented. The study is based on a computer simulation which is supported by monitoring data from an existing installation, the Terrosi-Grumman house in Quechee, Vermont. Three different SAHP configurations as well as conventional solar and air-to-air heat pump systems are evaluated for a northern New England climate. All systems are evaluated both with and without a peak/off-peak electricity price differential.

The SAHP systems are: (1) the series system in which the solar storage serves as the energy source for the heat pump, (2) the series off-peak system in which the heat pump in the series system operates only during certain periods of the day under a special electric rate structure, (3) a parallel system in which the environment is the source for both the collector and the heat pump, and (4) a peak/off-peak parallel system in which oil is operated during the period of peak electricity price. Hybrid air-to-air heat pump/oil systems are also evaluated.

For all alternatives, two different economic analyses are used: (1) the rate of return which emphasizes the return earned on the capital investment, and (2) the life cycle critical price which compares the current capital cost to the present worth of the stream of all future energy savings.

Both economic measures select the air-to-air heat pump/on-peak oil system when there is a peak/off-peak electricity price differential. (In this case the ratio of off-peak to average price is 40 per cent.) When there is no price differential, the air-to-air heat pump/oil system is still preferred, but the oil system is now operated when the ambient temperature falls below −6.7°C (20°F). When the electricity price is doubled (from 19.5 to 40$/GJ), solar/oil is the preferred system.     

Utilisation of waste heat from PEM electrolysers – Unlocking local optimisation

Recovery of heat from electrolysers is potentially interesting to increase the total system efficiency, reduce CO₂ emissions, and increase the economic feasibility of both hydrogen and heat production. This study examines different designs for the utilisation of (waste) heat from a 2.5 MW_el polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyser. Redundancy is important in the design, to ensure safe operation regardless of the heat demand of the heat consumer. We analysed cases with local heat consumption (with/without a heat pump) and coupling with a district heating network (DHN). Overall, 14–15% of the electricity input to the stack can be utilised by a heat consumer, increasing the total system efficiency to 90% (HHV) with CO₂-savings of 0.08 (DHN)-0.28 (direct use) tonne CO₂/MWh_{heat, used}. We performed a first-order techno-economic analysis showing that the levelized costs of the electrolyser heat (8.4–36.9 €/MWh) fall within the range of other industrial heat sources and below lower-temperature heat sources.     

Thermal energy recovery of air conditioning system––heat recovery system calculation and phase change materials development

Latent heat thermal energy storage systems can be used to recover the rejected heat from air conditioning systems, which can be used to generate low-temperature hot water. It decreases not only the consumption of primary energy for heating domestic hot water but also the calefaction to the surroundings due to the rejection of heat from air conditioning systems. A recovery system using phase change materials (PCMs) to store the rejected (sensible and condensation) heat from air conditioning system has been developed and studied, making up the shortage of other sensible heat storage system. Also, PCMs compliant for heat recovery of air conditioning system should be developed. Technical grade paraffin wax has been discussed in this paper in order to develop a paraffin wax based PCM for the recovery of rejected heat from air conditioning systems. The thermal properties of technical grade paraffin wax and the mixtures of paraffin wax with lauric acid and with liquid paraffin (paraffin oil) are investigated and discussed, including volume expansion during the phase change process, the freezing point and the heat of fusion.     

Application of an exhaust heat recovery system for domestic hot water

Typically, a great deal of heat is wasted in the drainage systems of large-scale public shower facilities, such as those in schools, barracks, and natatoriums. This paper enhances a heat pump system used in public shower facilities for exhaust heat recovery. The system consists of three sections for exhaust heat recovery: solar energy collection system, drainage collection system, and heat pump system. In the system, the energy from the solar energy collection system is used for the initial heating the shower's tap water. Afterwards, the drainage collection system collects the used shower water. Finally, the electric heat pump recycles the exhaust heat from the collected water to heat the shower's tap water. The operational practice of the system was presented. The drainage temperature and equipment capacity was optimized based on a practical example. The advantages of this heat pump system compared to gas-fired (oil-fired, coal-fired, electric) boilers are lower energy consumption, less pollution, and lower operating costs. Therefore, the system is superior in energy conservation and has a promising application prospect.     

热电(冷)联产系统的优化性能

依据有限时间热力学原理导出了不可逆热电联产和热电(冷)联产系统在系统最大火用输出时的基本优化关系,确定了热电(冷)联产系统优化参数和优化构形选取范围,得到了供热(制冷)和发电间的匹配优化特性,通过数值算例得出不同参数对系统性能影响的规律。所得结论可为热电(冷)联产系统的优化设计和最佳工况选择等提供理论依据。     

Thermoeconomic analysis of ground‐source heat pump systems

A thermoeconomic analysis of a ground‐source heat pump (GSHP) system with a vertical or horizontal ground heat exchanger, a type of heat delivery system, was performed using the modified productive structure analysis method. In this analysis, the unit cost of geothermal heat delivered to a room using GSHP system was estimated. The unit cost of heat delivered was calculated to be $0.063/kWh for input of electricity with a unit cost of $0.140/kWh for a GSHP with a coefficient of performance (COP) of 3.27. Exergy destruction and monetary losses due to the irreversibility that occurs at each component of the system were also estimated. The unit cost of heat was found to be inversely proportional to the COP of the heat pump and proportional to the electricity input. The greatest monetary loss occurs in the geothermal heat exchanger in which considerable mass of brine flows in long pipes and in the fan‐coil unit which features a complex configuration of pipes in the air passages, respectively. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of estimation method of ground properties for the ground source heat pump system

Technology directed at geothermal energy, one of our renewable energy sources, to heat and air-condition buildings has become very attractive in recent years following the significant developments in ground-source heat pump (GSHP) systems. In general, although the energy efficiency of GSHP systems is far superior to conventional air-source heat pump (ASHP) systems, GSHP system is still expensive. Therefore, GSHP system employs the foundation pile of buildings as heat exchanger is introduced in order to reduce the initial cost. When designing a GSHP system (especially in case of the energy pile system), it is necessary to accurately predict the heat extraction and injection rates of the heat exchanger. The thermal and hydraulic properties of the ground are very important to accurately predict heat transfer between the ground heat exchanger and the ground. In particular, those are the most important design parameters because energy pile system is installed only a few tens of meters deep. In this paper, an estimation method is suggested in order to determine the thermal and hydraulic properties of the ground for design the heat exchanger of energy pile system base on geotechnical investigation for the design the building's foundations. The use of results from generally applied geotechnical site investigation methods to estimate ground thermal and hydraulic properties was evaluated.     

Combined heat and power plant integrated with mobilized thermal energy storage (M-TES) system

Energy consumption for space and tap water heating in residential and service sectors accounts for one third of the total energy utilization in Sweden. District heating (DH) is used to supply heat to areas with high energy demand. However, there are still detached houses and sparse areas that are not connected to a DH network. In such areas, electrical heating or oil/pellet boilers are used to meet the heat demand. Extending the existing DH network to those spare areas is not economically feasible because of the small heat demand and the large investment required for the expansion. The mobilized thermal energy storage (M-TES) system is an alternative source of heat for detached buildings or sparse areas using industrial heat. In this paper, the integration of a combined heat and power (CHP) plant and an M-TES system is analyzed. Furthermore, the impacts of four options of the integrated system are discussed, including the power and heat output in the CHP plant. The performance of the M-TES system is likewise discussed.     

Increase of COP for heat transformer in water purification systems. Part I – Increasing heat source temperature

The integration of a water purification system in a heat transformer allows a fraction of heat obtained by the heat transformer to be recycled, increasing the heat source temperature. Consequently, the evaporator and generator temperatures are also increased. For any operating conditions, keeping the condenser and absorber temperatures and also the heat load to the evaporator and generator, a higher value of COP is obtained when only the evaporator and generator temperatures are increased. Simulation with proven software compares the performance of the modeling of an absorption heat transformer for water purification (AHTWP) operating with water/lithium bromide, as the working fluid–absorbent pair. Plots of enthalpy-based coefficients of performance (COP_ET) and the increase in the coefficient of performance (COP) are shown against absorber temperature for several thermodynamic operating conditions. The results showed that proposed (AHTWP) system is capable of increasing the original value of COP_ET more than 120%, by recycling part of the energy from a water purification system. The proposed system allows to increase COP values from any experimental data for water purification or any other distillation system integrated to a heat transformer, regardless of the actual COP value and any working fluid–absorbent pair.     

Energy analysis of a solar-ground source heat pump system with vertical closed-loop for heating applications

A heat pump system is the ideal way to extend the heat supply of existing oil or gas fired heating system. Consumption costs are lowered through the use of free energy from the environment, and the dependence on fossils fuels simultaneously reduces. In order to investigate the performance of the solar-ground source heat pump system in the province of Erzurum having cold climate, an experimental set-up was constructed. The experimental apparatus consisted of solar collectors, a ground heat exchanger (GHE), a liquid-to-liquid vapor compression heat pump, water circulating pumps and other measurement equipments. In this study, the performance of the system was experimentally investigated. The experimental results were obtained from October to May of 2008-2009. The experimentally obtained results are used to calculate the heat pump coefficient of performance (COP) and the system performance (COPS). The coefficient of performance of the heat pump and system were found to be in the range of 3.0-3.4 and 2.7-3.0, respectively. This study also shows that this system could be used for residential heating in the province of Erzurum being a cold climate region of Turkey.     

Numerical simulation of solar assisted ground-source heat pump heating system with latent heat energy storage in severely cold area

Solar assisted ground-source heat pump (SAGSHP) heating system with latent heat energy storage tank (LHEST) is investigated. The mathematical model of the system is developed, and the transient numerical simulation is carried out in terms of this model. The operation characteristic of the heating system is analyzed during the heating period in Harbin (N45.75°, E126.77°). From the results of the simulation, the average coefficient of performance (COP) of the heating system is 3.28 in heating period. In the initial and latter heating period, the COP of the heating system is higher, and the highest value is 5.95, because the system can be operated without heat pump. During the middle heating period the COP of the heating system and the operation stability of the system are improved due to solar energy and soil alternately or together as the heat source of heat pump. LHEST is a very important role in operation of the system. The system can be operated more flexibly, effectively, and stably by the charge and discharge heat of LHEST, and the effect becomes especially obvious in the initial and latter heating period.     

Numerical model of a thermoelectric generator with compact plate-fin heat exchanger for high temperature PEM fuel cell exhaust heat recovery

This paper presents a numerical model of an exhaust heat recovery system for a high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (HTPEMFC) stack. The system is designed as thermoelectric generators (TEGs) sandwiched in the walls of a compact plate-fin heat exchanger. Its model is based on a finite-element approach. On each discretized segment, fluid properties, heat transfer process and TEG performance are locally calculated for higher model precision. To benefit both the system design and fabrication, the way to model TEG modules is herein reconsidered; a database of commercialized compact plate-fin heat exchangers is adopted. Then the model is validated against experimental data and the main variables are identified by means of a sensitivity analysis. Finally, the system configuration is optimized for recovering heat from the exhaust gas. The results exhibit the crucial importance of the model accuracy and the optimization on system configuration. Future studies will concentrate on heat exchanger structures.     

Optimization of a solar cooling system with interior energy storage

This paper focuses on the optimization of the performance of a solar absorption cooling system composed by four units with interior energy storage. A full dynamic simulation model that includes the solar collector field, the absorption heat pump system and the building load calculation has been developed. It has been applied to optimize the coupling of a system based on this new technology of solar powered absorption heat pump, to a bioclimatic building recently constructed in the Plataforma Solar de Almeria (PSA) in Spain. The absorption heat pump system considered is composed by four heat pumps that store energy in the form of crystallized salts so that no external storage capacity is required. Each heat pump is composed of two separate barrels that can charge (store energy from the solar field) and discharge (deliver heat or cold to the building) independently. Different configurations of the four units have been analysed taking into account the storage possibilities of the system and its capacity to respond to the building loads. It has been shown how strong the influence of the control strategies in the overall performance is, and the importance of using hourly simulations models when looking for highly efficient buildings.     

CFB锅炉水冷排渣余热利用的分析与优化

1前言循环流化床锅炉技术是近年来迅速发展起来的一项高效低污染清洁技术,这项技术在电站锅炉、工业锅炉以及废弃物处理利用等领域已得到广泛应用。由于流化床锅炉通常燃用高灰份燃料,因此排渣热损失较大,若能将锅炉排渣的热量进行回收利用,则可大大提高电厂运行的经济性。冷渣     

Energy and exergy analysis of fossil plant and heat pump building heating system at two different dead-state temperatures

In this paper, we deal with the energy and exergy analysis of a fossil plant and ground and air source heat pump building heating system at two different dead-state temperatures. A zone model of a building with natural ventilation is considered and heat is being supplied by condensing boiler. The same zone model is applied for heat pump building heating system. Since energy and exergy demand are key parameters to see which system is efficient at what reference temperature, we did a study on the influence of energy and exergy efficiencies. In this regard, a commercial software package IDA-ICE program is used for calculation of fossil plant heating system, however, there is no inbuilt simulation model for heat pumps in IDA-ICE, different COP (coefficient of performance) curves of the earlier studies of heat pumps are taken into account for the evaluation of the heat pump input and output energy. The outcome of the energy and exergy flow analysis at two different dead-state temperatures revealed that the ground source heat pumps with ambient reference have better performance against all ground reference systems as well as fossil plant (conventional system) and air source heat pumps with ambient reference.