{"title":"The potential of utilizing vertical borehole heat exchangers in residential buildings for the various climate zones of Saudi Arabia","authors":"Ahmad Aljabr , Sulaiman Almoatham","doi":"10.1016/j.geothermics.2024.103087","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Most of the literature concerning geothermal energy in Saudi Arabia has focused on power generation applications. This paper investigates the potential of utilizing ground-source heat pump (GSHP) with vertical borehole heat exchangers in residential buildings in the various climate zones and subsurface geologies of Saudi Arabia. Thermal loads of a typical residential building in Saudi Arabia were generated using <em>eQuest</em> software, then used in a model of GSHP system in TRNSYS. The performance and economics of the GSHP system was evaluated and compared with a typical air-source heat pump (ASHP) system for each location. The total borehole lengths in all zones were determined using the cooling load (the dominant load). The potential for employing GSHP systems was found to be not uniform across Saudi Arabia. The required length of the GHE ranged between 12 and 148 m/kW of cooling. The annual energy saving when employing GSHP instead of ASHP systems varied between 3 % to 19 %, and the building's electricity peak demand could be reduced between 5 % to 43 %. Although GSHPs reduced electrical and maintenance costs, their high drilling cost makes them economically unattractive under the present electric utility charge in Saudi Arabia.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55095,"journal":{"name":"Geothermics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.5000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Geothermics","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0375650524001767","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ENERGY & FUELS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Most of the literature concerning geothermal energy in Saudi Arabia has focused on power generation applications. This paper investigates the potential of utilizing ground-source heat pump (GSHP) with vertical borehole heat exchangers in residential buildings in the various climate zones and subsurface geologies of Saudi Arabia. Thermal loads of a typical residential building in Saudi Arabia were generated using eQuest software, then used in a model of GSHP system in TRNSYS. The performance and economics of the GSHP system was evaluated and compared with a typical air-source heat pump (ASHP) system for each location. The total borehole lengths in all zones were determined using the cooling load (the dominant load). The potential for employing GSHP systems was found to be not uniform across Saudi Arabia. The required length of the GHE ranged between 12 and 148 m/kW of cooling. The annual energy saving when employing GSHP instead of ASHP systems varied between 3 % to 19 %, and the building's electricity peak demand could be reduced between 5 % to 43 %. Although GSHPs reduced electrical and maintenance costs, their high drilling cost makes them economically unattractive under the present electric utility charge in Saudi Arabia.
期刊介绍:
Geothermics is an international journal devoted to the research and development of geothermal energy. The International Board of Editors of Geothermics, which comprises specialists in the various aspects of geothermal resources, exploration and development, guarantees the balanced, comprehensive view of scientific and technological developments in this promising energy field.
It promulgates the state of the art and science of geothermal energy, its exploration and exploitation through a regular exchange of information from all parts of the world. The journal publishes articles dealing with the theory, exploration techniques and all aspects of the utilization of geothermal resources. Geothermics serves as the scientific house, or exchange medium, through which the growing community of geothermal specialists can provide and receive information.