In the present study, the real-world performance of a ground-to-air heat exchanger (GAHE) was analyzed in the Polish climate which is characterized by warm summers and cold winters. The heat exchanger’s performance was monitored over a period of three years (2017 to 2019), and real-world conditions were compared with a Typical Meteorological Year (TMY). The aim of the study was to assess the exchanger’s energy-efficiency potential in various ventilation scenarios in a single-family home under variable real-world conditions, rather than to simply determine its heating and cooling capacity. The analyzed single-family home was a modern, single-story building with a usable floor area of 115 m2. The building’s thermal insulation and airtightness met stringent energy-efficiency standards. Energy consumption in a building equipped with a natural ventilation system was compared with three other scenarios: ventilation coupled with a GAHE, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery and a high-efficiency heat exchanger (HE), and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery coupled with a GAHE. Sensible heating and cooling loads were calculated based on standard ISO 13790:2008, and latent heating and cooling loads were also included in the energy balance. During the year, the GAHE generated around 257.6 W of heating energy per hour and 124.7 W of cooling energy per hour. Presented results can be used to select the optimal HVAC system scenarios for engineering projects as well as private investors.
The Required Amount of Ventilation Air for the Classroom and the Possibility of Air Infiltration through the Windows
