Investigation of HGHE near building basement – a case study

Ground heat exchangers represent the barrier between installing a ground source heat pump (GSHP) or a heat pump that use another source as water or air. While the vertical ground heat exchangers (VGHE) yield better results than horizontal ground heat exchangers (HGHE), the installation cost is higher than HGHE. Although, HGHE installation cost is a lot more affordable for residential use, it has the disadvantage of requiring a large installation area and lower efficiency than VGHE due to the temperature variation at the surface of the ground throughout the year. This study focuses on investigating possible use of the energy that is lost through the ground from basements in general, to help the heat pump when the HGHE is installed in the proximity of the basement. In order to achieve concluding results, an experiment was conducted at the University of Transilvania from Braşov, at the Faculty of Civil Engineering. In the experiment the HGHE was installed next to the basement exterior wall. In addition, a CFD numerical study was conducted. Firstly, to verify the experimental measurements and secondly, to obtain results with different working parameters. The results indicate that the thermal insulation degree of the basement wall and floor is an important parameter when considering heat loss into the ground. Likewise, the thermal state of the basement, heated or unheated, contributes considerably to the final results. Consequently, positioning the HGHE in the proximity of basements can represent an energetic optimization, especially when the basement is heated and it isn’t thermal insulated, as can be the case for an existing building.