Coupling Geothermal Heat Pumps with Underground Seasonal Thermal Energy Storage

ER-201135

Objective

Department of Defense (DoD) buildings located in the southeastern United States consume large amounts of energy due to significant cooling demands throughout much of the year. The objective of this project is to demonstrate that a high-efficiency geothermal heat pump (GHP) system coupled with an underground seasonal thermal energy storage (USTES) system can provide higher energy savings than conventional full geothermal systems and with lower installation costs.

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Technology Description

This project will take the existing technology of GHPs and couple it with USTES technology, which at present has little domestic presence. The inherent heat storage capabilities of an underground heat exchanger (GHX) will be exploited. One effort will couple GHPs with a particular form of USTES referred to as borehole thermal energy storage. Another similar effort will couple GHPs with a particular form of USTES referred to as aquifer thermal energy storage. Both systems will demonstrate significant capital cost reductions from full GHP systems while concurrently demonstrating significant reduced annual energy consumption when compared to conventional HVAC systems and even full GHP systems.

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Benefits

This project aims to deliver a fully functional HVAC system that consists of GHPs coupled with USTES at a demonstrated installed cost 20% below traditional full geothermal heat pump systems, energy cost 30% below conventional HVAC systems and at least 10% below full geothermal systems, zero on-site stack emissions, zero on-site water consumption by the selected supplement heat rejection device, a payback of less than 10 years, a carbon footprint reduction of 15%, and maintainability of the system over the long term. (Anticipated Project Completion - 2014)

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Points of Contact

Principal Investigator

Mr. Charles (Chuck) Hammock Jr.

Andrews, Hammock & Powell, Inc.

Phone: 478-405-8301 x102

Fax: 478-405-8210

Program Manager

Energy and Water

SERDP and ESTCP

Document Types

  • Fact Sheet - Brief project summary with links to related documents and points of contact.
  • Final Report - Comprehensive report for every completed SERDP and ESTCP project that contains all technical results.
  • Cost & Performance Report - Overview of ESTCP demonstration activities, results, and conclusions, standardized to facilitate implementation decisions.
  • Technical Report - Additional interim reports, laboratory reports, demonstration reports, and technology survey reports.
  • Guidance - Instructional information on technical topics such as protocols and user’s guides.
  • Workshop Report - Summary of workshop discussion and findings.
  • Multimedia - On demand videos, animations, and webcasts highlighting featured initiatives or technologies.
  • Model/Software - Computer programs and applications available for download.
  • Database - Digitally organized collection of data available to search and access.