Development of the Hybrid Operation Method of a Multi-Geothermal Heat Pump System and Absorption Chiller-Heater

Abstract

Considerable efforts have been made to reduce the energy consumption of buildings due to the energy crisis, and, the Korean government has supported the use of renewable energy through various grants. Among the possible renewable energy sources, geothermal energy can be used regardless of the outside weather. Therefore, energy consumption can be reduced considerably in summer and winter. Despite the increasing use of renewable energy, the use of renewables has not been operating appropriately. Therefore, this study examined some of the problems of the operation of renewable energy and some possible improvements. The aim of the study is to evaluate a building containing an actual installed multi-geothermal heat pump (Multi-GHP) system, in terms of the energy efficiency. In addition, this study evaluated the present control system and the method of complex operation regarding existing heat sources systems and GHP systems through a simulation. The results can be regarded as the result of a hybrid operation method for the OPEN ACCESSEnergies 2015, 8 9321 improvement of an existing operation. Therefore, the Multi-GHP system energy use of a hybrid operation condition of the Multi-GHP systems and the absorption (ABS) chiller-heater system was reduced compared to the operation condition of the Multi-GHP system, and the total energy consumption of the heat source equipment was reduced. The proposed operation plan was evaluated after applying the system to a building. These results showed that the efficient operation of a Multi-GHP hybrid operation method is possible. As a result, the GHP energy use of Multi-GHP systems and the ABS chiller-heater system was reduced by 30% compared to existing operation and the total energy consumption of heat source equipment was reduced by 78%.

A Study on the Efficiency Improvement of Multi-Geothermal Heat Pump Systems in Korea Using Coefficient of Performance

“…Park [12] measured the change in ground temperature according to depth and analyzed the performance of the heat exchanger and the geothermal heat pump to check the optimal design of a geothermal heat pump system, identify the operating conditions, and determine whether a ground well is suitable for the system. Jung et al [13] analyzed the coefficient of performance (COP) and consumption energy of a geothermal heat pump unit by the change in flow of ground circulating water. Lee [14] devised an optimal design method by analyzing the design load and consumption data in a geothermal system as the main source with a focus on electricity, air conditioning, and heating energy consumption in the target building.…”