Simulation of a large scale ground source heat pump with natural cooling

Since recent years cooling demand in office buildings has tremendously increased due to higher internal heat production of equipment, lighting and higher thermal comfort requirements. Classical cooling machines needs a lot of electricity to cover these high demands when primary energy factors are taken into consideration. The use of vertical borehole heat exchangers (BHEs) in combination with a ground source heat pump (GSHP) reduces the energy consumption for the office building. The optimum number of vertical borehole heat exchangers is simulated. This information is compared with a predefined reference installation, existing of contemporary energy systems. This allows to define the actual energy savings and environmental benefits. This paper presents the simulation results and shows that using the ground as a heat sink or source can save a lot of primary energy and CO2 emissions.