Evaluating Thermal Performance and Energy Conservation Potential of Hybrid Earth Air Tunnel Heat Exchanger in Hot and Dry Climate—In Situ Measurement

Abstract

Earth air tunnel heat exchanger is a passive cooling device with advantageous feature to reduce energy consumption in buildings. Curtailing the electricity consumption of conventional vapor compression system based air-conditioner is a major concern especially in area with hot and dry weather conditions. The performance of conventional air-conditioners can substantially be enhanced by coupling these active cooling systems with passive cooling systems. In the present research, the thermal performance and energy conservation potential of hybrid cooling system has been investigated experimentally. An attempt has been made to enhance the thermal performance of active cooling system by coupling it with earth air tunnel heat exchanger (EATHE) in two different hybrid modes. The air which comes out of EATHE is relatively cooler than the ambient air and therefore can be used either for cooling the condenser tubes of a conventional window type air-conditioner or supplying it directly to the room being conditioned. The energy consumption of conventional 1.5TR window type air conditioner is found to be reduced by 16.11% when cold air from EATHE is completely used for condenser cooling.

Parametric modeling and simulation of photovoltaic panels with earth water heat exchanger cooling

“…It is observed from Fig. 11 (Misra et al 2013) the experimental results with the variation of 0.8-7.93 %. This error may occur due to the improper insulation of pipes, variation in coefficient of friction of materials used in the simulation, and irregularities, such as fitting and joints in the experimental setup.…”

“…Some researchers have done work using EATHE for air conditioning. One of the experimental studies was performed on the hybrid EATHE (Misra et al 2013) for the conditions of Ajmer (India). In their experimental analysis, they used the thermal and physical parameters of various materials, such as soil density, soil thermal conductivity, soil specific heat, and pipe thermal conductivity as 2050 kg/m 3 , 0.52 W/mK, 1.840 kJ/kg K, and 0.16 W/mK, respectively.…”

“…In their experimental analysis, they used the thermal and physical parameters of various materials, such as soil density, soil thermal conductivity, soil specific heat, and pipe thermal conductivity as 2050 kg/m 3 , 0.52 W/mK, 1.840 kJ/kg K, and 0.16 W/mK, respectively. Experimental study done by Misra et al 2013 is simulated in TRNSYS on a model of EATHE to determine the precision of results for the same properties of materials. The variation of EATHE outlet air temperature with the length of EATHE pipe from both the simulation and experimental analyses is shown in Fig.…”

Ground coupled heat exchangers: A review and applications

“…In the recent years, scope of EAHE systems is being investigated in developing countries also. Many researchers adopted EAHE system alone or in combination with solar chimney, conventional heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system, phase changing material (PCM) and other renewable technologies, using experimental, modeling or both methodologies for their research works [25][26][27].…”

Thermal performance analysis of a naturally ventilated system using PMV models for different roof inclinations in composite climatic conditions

“…A study done by Orme has suggested that the energy consumption by HVAC systems in the residential building is nearly about 68% of the total consumption [20], which can be reduced significantly. Researches have been done to maintain [21,22] and improve [23][24][25] the thermal environment of buildings along with increasing its energy saving potential. However, one of the best passive approaches for reaching these target reductions in energy consumption in HVAC systems is to utilize increased natural ventilation, which would lead to an exchange of air with the outside surroundings and would also lead to the circulation of air within the building, without the help of any mechanical systems.…”