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Geothermal
Central System
By Thomas H. Durkin, P.E., Member ASHRAE; and Keith E. Cecil, P.E., Member ASHRAE
he next generation of geothermal systems for school buildings two-pipe or a four-pipe building system.
T is a recent synthesis of three technologies that separately
All of the air-side equipment would be
standard air handlers, unit ventilators or
fan coils. This configuration can operate
have proven to be effective: geothermal (earth-coupled) heating air-side economizers, and it can use the
well water to cool the building directly
and cooling; dedicated heat recovery chillers; and the modern when the ground temperature and indoor
humidity allow, thus giving two sources
two-pipe HVAC system. of free cooling. When outside tempera-
tures are cool, air-side economizers on
From two-pipe HVAC, comes economy Another Heat Pump Article? AHUs and unit ventilators provide cool-
and simplicity for school designs, and Rather than multiple distributed com- ing without any compressors running;
the proven ability to heat large buildings pressorized units throughout a building and when the well return temperature is
with low-temperature water (see sidebar (conventional geothermal heat pumps), cool enough, the sensible cooling mode
on Modern Two-Pipe System). From this concept has a single unit located in a provides air conditioning, again without
dedicated heat recovery chillers comes a central mechanical room. The heart of the compressors operating. Economizer
proven machine that can be programmed system is a heat recovery chiller/heater, availability in this scheme is seen as a
to simultaneously produce 44°F (7°C) or Geo-H/C. It is a single unit (multiple significant efficiency benefit (see sidebar
cooling water and 130°F (54°C) heating refrigeration circuits provide redundancy) on Economizers in Schools).
water. And, from geothermal, comes an that will heat the building in the winter,
efficient heating and cooling source. The cool it in the summer, do both in the
About the Authors
geothermal systems discussed in this spring and fall, and preheat the domestic Thomas H. Durkin, P.E.; and Keith E. Cecil, P.E.,
article are closed systems, circulating an hot water if demand is high enough.1 are partners at Durkin & Villalta Partners Engineer-
engineered heat transfer solution. Geo-H/C can be connected to either a ing in Indianapolis.
Well Well
Well Field Field
Field Bore Field Pump(s)—On Bore Field Pump(s)—On
Bore Field Pump(s)—Off
Sensible Cooling Cooling Heating
Geo-H/C—Off Geo-H/C—Evap. Control Geo-H/C—Cond. Control
Sensible Cooling
nominal 50 ton (176 kW) Geo-H/C module. Geo-H/C M Valve 3
Geo-H/C—Off
is at 40°F/34°F (4.4°C/1°C) evaporator temperatures. From Bore Field
The pump motors are all premium efficiency with Evap. To Bore Field
M M Valve 2
speed drives, so the net effect is 87%.2 Cond.
Valve 1
• Geo-H/C: 46.8 kW in, 594.7 MBH out, heating
Bore Field Geo-H/C
COP = 3.72; Pump(s)—Off
• Well field (evaporator) pump at 145 gpm (9 L/s)
(Supplemental)
(Supplemental)
and 80 ft (24 m) total dynamic head: 3.905 hp at
Boiler 1
Chiller
87% motor/drive efficiency, 3.34 kW;
• Building (condenser) pump at 119 gpm (8 L/s)
and 80 ft (24 m) total dynamic head: 3.23 hp at
87% motor/drive efficiency, 2.76 kW;
• Unit ventilator fans: 15 at 0.3 hp each, 3.35 kW; Bldg. Chilled Water Bldg. Hot Water
• Total system kW = 56.25 in and 594.7 MBH out;
and Chilled Water Pump—On
• Total system COP = 3.09.
Table 2 restates the Geo-H/C heating efficiency in Hot Water
Pump—Available
dollars for various average electric rates. This can be M Valve 4
Available Reheat
M Valve 3
Geo-H/C—On
(Supplemental)
Boiler
Payback Calculation
“Commercial Heating and Cooling Loads Compo-
nent Analysis”4 lists average consumption of gas and Bldg. Chilled Water Bldg. Hot Water
electric for several building types, by use. Looking at
this data for new schools, it shows an average use of
Chilled Water Pump—Off
gas and electric according to Table 3.
At $1.20 per therm for gas and $0.10/kWh (0.36 MJ) Hot Water Pump—On
for electric, a 100,000 ft2 (9290 m2) school building in M Valve 4
Geo-H/C—On
gas bill of $53,400; and cooling is $14,890/year from Evap. To Bore Field
M M Valve 2
a total electric bill of $84,600. Valve 1
Cond.
In most climate zones, the primary justification for a Bore Field Geo-H/C
geothermal system must be based on improvements in Pump(s)—On
(Supplemental)
Chiller
N ’95
96
Jan 94
Jan 95
M ’94
M ’95
M ’96
Ju 94
Ju 95
Ju 96
M 94
M 95
M 96
Se 4
Se 95
Se 96
’9
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room, etc.), the payback may become more manageable, but
Jan