Parametric study of a vertically configured ground source heat pump system

Ground source heat pumps are being common in western countries in order to reduce the primary energy consumption and the corresponding greenhouse gas emissions associated with heating and cooling of buildings. In this paper, a parametric study was conducted to investigate the performance of a ground source heat pump configured with a vertical ground loop. Mathematical models were developed for the different components of the heat pump, and EES was used to analyse the performance of the heat pump considering the influence of the ground's depth, mass flow rates of brine, types of working fluids, and the dead state condition of the environment. The results revealed that the working fluids performed differently for the various operating parameters, and importantly selection of refrigerants as a working fluid for the ground source heat pump needs through thermodynamics analysis. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.