scholarly journals Experimental Study to Analyze Feasibility of a Novel Panelized Ground-Source Thermoelectric System for Building Space Heating and Cooling

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 209
Author(s):  
Rui Miao ◽  
Xiaoou Hu ◽  
Yao Yu ◽  
Qifeng Zhang ◽  
Zhibin Lin ◽  
...  

A thermoelectric module is a device that converts electrical energy into thermal energy through a mechanism known as the Peltier effect. A Peltier device has hot and cold sides/substrates, and heat can be pumped from the cold side to the hot side under a given voltage. By applying it in buildings and attaching it to building envelope components, such as walls, as a heating and cooling device, the heating and cooling requirements can be met by reversing the voltage applied on these two sides/substrates. In this paper, we describe a novel, panelized, ground source, radiant system design for space heating and cooling in buildings by utilizing the Peltier effect. The system is equipped with water pipes that are attached to one side of the panel and connected with a ground loop to exchange heat between the cold/hot sides of the thermoelectric module and the underground region. The ground loop is inserted in boreholes, similar to those used for a vertical closed-loop Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) system, which could be more than a hundred meters deep. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the feasibility of the developed panel system applied in buildings. The results show that: (1) the average cooling Coefficients Of Performance (COP) of the system are low (0.6 or less) even though the ground is used as a heat sink, and thus additional studies are needed to improve it in the future, such as to arrange the thermoelectric modules in cascade and/or develop a new thermoelectric material that has a large Seebeck coefficient; and (2) the developed system using the underground region as the heat source has the potential of meeting heating loads of a building while maintaining at a higher system coefficient of performance (up to ~3.0) for space heating, compared to conventional heating devices, such as furnaces or boilers, especially in a region with mild winters and relatively warm ground.

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irfan Ahmad Gondal

This study presents an innovative concept of a compact integrated solar-thermoelectric module that can form part of the building envelope. The heating/cooling modes use the photovoltaic electrical current to power the heat pump. The experimental analysis was carried out and the results of coefficient of performance were in the range 0.5–1 and 2.6–5 for cooling and heating functions, respectively. The study demonstrates that thermoelectric cooler can effectively be used for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning applications by integrating with solar panels especially in cooling applications. The system is environmentally friendly and can contribute in the implementation of zero energy buildings concept. Practical application: In order to help address the challenge of climate change and associated environmental effects, there is continuous demand for new technologies and applications that can be readily integrated into day-to-day life as a means of reducing anthropogenic impact. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, as one of the largest energy consumers in buildings, is the focus of many researchers seeking to reduce building energy use and environmental impact. This article proposes using facades and windows that have an integrated modules of solar photovoltaic cells and thermoelectric devices that are able to work together to achieve heating and cooling effects as required by the building without requiring any external operational power.


Author(s):  
Mohammad Omar Temori ◽  
František Vranay

In this work, a mini review of heat pumps is presented. The work is intended to introduce a technology that can be used to income energy from the natural environment and thus reduce electricity consumption for heating and cooling. A heat pump is a mechanical device that transfers heat from one environmental compartment to another, typically against a temperature gradient (i.e. from cool to hot). In order to do this, an energy input is required: this may be mechanical, electrical or thermal energy. In most modern heat pumps, electrical energy powers a compressor, which drives a compression - expansion cycle of refrigerant fluid between two heat exchanges: a cold evaporator and a warm condenser. The efficiency or coefficient of performance (COP), of a heat pump is defined as the thermal output divided by the primary energy (electricity) input. The COP decreases as the temperature difference between the cool heat source and the warm heat sink increases. An efficient ground source heat pump (GSHP) may achieve a COP of around 4. Heat pumps are ideal for exploiting low-temperature environmental heat sources: the air, surface waters or the ground. They can deliver significant environmental (CO2) and cost savings.


Author(s):  
Leon M. Headings ◽  
Gregory N. Washington

The goal of this research is to develop a framework for replacing conventional heating and cooling systems with distributed, continuously and electrically controlled, building-integrated thermoelectric (BITE) heat pumps. The coefficient of performance of thermoelectric heat pumps increases as the temperature difference across them decreases and as the amplitude of temperature oscillations decreases. As a result, this research examines how thermal insulation and mass elements can be integrated with thermoelectrics as part of active multi-layer structures in order to minimize net energy consumption. In order to develop BITE systems, an explicit finite volume model was developed to model the dynamic thermal response of active multi-layer wall structures subjected to arbitrary boundary conditions (interior and exterior temperatures and interior heat loads) and control algorithms. Using this numerical model, the effects of wall construction on net system performance were examined. These simulation results provide direction for the ongoing development of BITE systems.


2011 ◽  
Vol 99-100 ◽  
pp. 624-627
Author(s):  
Chao Ying Liu

According to Xuanmei Yang and other scholars’ study, space heating and cooling together with water heating consist the majority of domestic energy consumption. This article analyzes the seven aspects of domestic energy consumption by heating or cooling. From the building envelope technology and low-carbon technology aspects, it provides numbers of feasible strategies to attain low-carbon residential design adapting to the energy consuming sources of the residential construction.


Author(s):  
Li-Xia Wu ◽  
Mao-Yu Zheng

In severely cold climate, significant amount of energy is used to heat buildings. Both the theoretical computation and experiments show that it is difficult and uneconomical to use solar energy collected merely in winter. A new method has been developed to store solar energy during summer, fall, and spring for winter heating. This paper presents in details the combined heating and cooling system by solar ground-source heat pump (GSHP) and short-term phase change material (PCM) thermal storage. The hybrid system and season-shift mode can make the sustainable use of solar energy possible. As for the above system, the solar energy collected is stored into soil through the U-tube heat exchanger. In winter, the thermal energy is taken out for heating using the GSHP. At the end of the heat supply season, the underground soil temperature may drop below 0°C. Then some heat exchangers begin to store the heat into soil while others stop. In summer, the U-tube heat exchanger is used to produce low temperature water without compressor to cool the room. The project was supported by the Energy Conservation Laboratory at Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT). The whole systems, which have run for over two years, consist of a flat plate solar hot water system installed on the roof, a soil thermal storage system, a GSHP system, a PCM thermal storage system and heating-cooling system. The measured results show an average heating coefficient of performance (COP) of 3.2 in winter and the cooling coefficient of performance (COP) of 18.0 in summer. The PCM thermal storage system has been investigated by numerical simulation and experiments in the cold climate. In most time of winter, the PCM thermal storage system was used to supply heat, while solar GSHP was also used during continuous cloudy days and severely cold days. The result shows that above method is feasible. The most advantage of this system is that it does not need the usual energy equipment. The numerical analysis has been used to investigate the thermal energy balance of the underground soil. The variation of the soil temperature field around the U-tube heat exchanger has also been studied, not only for the single exchanger but also for multiple exchangers. The underground soil makes the yearly thermal balance possible because the solar energy supplies the heat that is extracted from the soil for heating in winter. Then this system can operate for a long period.


The aim of this project is to design a portable solar thermoelectric refrigerator for people living in remote areas, or outdoor applications where electric power supply is absent. The design of the solar-powered refrigerator based on the principle of the thermoelectric module to create a hot side and cold side. Solar PV module is used to supply electrical energy to the thermoelectric module to generate hot and cold effects for heating and cooling application. A wellinsulated rectangular container made of aluminum is used as a cooling chamber. To enhance the cooling effect, heat sinks and electric fans are added to the hot side to cool down the thermoelectric modules. The system was able to reach 40 C in the cold surface of the TEM and 100 C as the refrigerant temperature and 300 C in hot chamber with 0.66 COP. An economic analysis is carried out to study the viability of this novel technique. Economic analysis reveals that the system has sufficient amount of saving due to renewable source of energy which is free and lower maintenance cost. One more major advantages of the proposed refrigerator is its longer lifetime that might reach up to 40 years


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Lam E. Law ◽  
Seth B. Dworkin

Ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) are an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional heating and cooling systems because of their high efficiency and low greenhouse gas emissions. The ground acts as a heat sink/source for the excess/required heat inside a building for cooling and heating modes, respectively. However, imbalance in heating and cooling needs can change ground temperature over the operating duration. This increase/decrease in ground temperature lowers system efficiency and causes the ground to foul—failing to accept or provide more heat. In order to ensure that GSHPs can operate to their designed conditions, thermal modelling is required to simulate the ground temperature during system operation. In addition, the borehole field layout can have a major impact on ground temperature. In this study, four buildings were studied—a hospital, fast-food restaurant, residence, and school, each with varying borehole configurations. Boreholes were modeled in a soil volume using finite-element methods and heating and cooling fluxes were applied to the borehole walls to simulate the GSHP operation. 20 years of operation were modelled for each building for 2x2, 4x4, and 2x8 borehole configurations. Results indicate that the borehole separation distance of 6 m, recommended by ASHRAE, is not always sufficient to prevent borehole thermal interactions. Benefits of using a 2x8 configuration as opposed to a 4x4 configuration, which can be observed because of the larger perimeter it provides for heat to dissipate to surrounding soil were quantified. This study indicates that it is important to carefully consider ground temperature during the operation of a GSHP. Borehole separation distances, layout, and hybridization should be studied to alleviate ground fouling problems.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 2149-2153

As we know Peltier Effect is the presence of heating and cooling at an electrified junction of two different conductors. Over the years we've realized that fridge and climate control systems are the most vitality devouring home apparatuses and because of this numerous analysts had concocted a lot of examines in this field. Therefore, to conquer these issues, we have thought of thermoelectric cooler with the help of various assemblies as a progression in this field. It has settled the issues of intensity utilization, cooling execution, vibrations and support. It has been ended up being one of the best headways in this situation, which has altered the previously mentioned issues. To make it progressively adjusted, we are reusing emanating warmth to change over it into a warming chamber to keep the things warm also. We are computing out its coefficient of performance and low electricity usage to demonstrate its effectiveness to be superior to different frameworks in the field.


Author(s):  
Wahiba Yaïci ◽  
Evgueniy Entchev ◽  
Michela Longo

Abstract As the energy needed for heating and cooling involves a substantial amount (> 80%) of residential energy utilisation in Canada, there is a demand for ultra-efficient energy systems for heating, cooling, and power generation. Two efficient systems to assist these systems are ground-source heat pumps (GSHPs) and organic Rankine cycles (ORCs). Of particular interest, this paper presents the integration of these two systems in a parallel configuration. A transient simulation model developed in TRNSYS program has been utilised to simulate the thermal performance of the combined ORC-GSHP based microco/trigeneration system. This later supplies heating and cooling to the residential load during the heating mode as required, with the capability to switch to a charging mode, where the ORC unit is directly coupled to the ground heat exchanger (GHE), which operates as a thermal energy storage and provides energy to the GSHP. The feasibility of this combined system configuration as well as its comparison with a conventional GSHP system are investigated for use in residential application in Ottawa, Canada temperature conditions. Results disclosed that the proposed micro-cogeneration system had the operating hours and performance of the GSHP improved by the addition of the ORC unit, resulting in about 11.8% reduction in hours in the colder city of Ottawa. The COP (coefficient of performance) of the GSHP system sustained a much higher value overall due to the addition of the ORC system to maintain the GHE storage temperature. In terms of net energy reduction between the conventional GSHP system and the ORC-assisted one, results revealed that Ottawa had energy usage reduction of 82.0%, demonstrating that the addition of an ORC to provide heating and recharge the GHE of a GSHP system has many advantages that could be accomplished by the end-user.


2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-179
Author(s):  
T. Buday ◽  
Gy. Szabó ◽  
I. Fazekas ◽  
M. Paládi ◽  
Sz. Szabó ◽  
...  

Heating with the use of ambient energy by heat pumps is a very effective way to reduce CO2 emission. However, efficiency, economic and environmental advantages depend on the type of the heat pump and the temperature of the source, the latter usually changes during the heating season. The aim of the paper is to give the annual pattern of the COP and emission as a function of the typical source temperature pattern, moreover yearly summarized energetic and emission values are also added in the case of air source, water source and ground source heat pump systems, compared to some conventional heating mode.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document