Ground source heat pump on building acclimatization in Coimbra, Portugal

Abstract

The purpose of this paper wa was the study of different scenarios to the development of the Portuguese demonstration site of GROUND-MED project. This is one of the eight demo-sites in this project which runs under the Seventh Research Programme. The analyses done to the building regards only the energetic component. The first part of the work consists on the thermal simulation of the buildings third floor, done to help in the dimensioning and selection of HVAC components based on the demand of cooling and heating. The second part of this paper concerns the type of boreholes and boreholes heat exchangers selection, taking into account the soil characteristics and acclimatization needs. The simulation of thermal needs was performed in EnergyPlus and the geothermal calculations with the Earth Energy Designer (EED).. Many configuration and dimensions are suggested, aiming economical benefits and thermal maximization for the local ground conditions. According to the EnergyPlus calculations, the studied space annual thermal needs totalize 26 MWh in cooling mode and 4.5 MWh in heating mode. The power demand peak is about 48 kW in January and 56 kW in July. To this needs EED calculations showed that 4 boreholes heat exchangers with 107m each are sufficient.