Design and fabrication of a heating and cooling system using geothermal energy

Ground-source heat pump systems are one of the promising new energy technologies that can be a sustainable solution for on-going energy crisis in Pakistan. The purpose of this study is to build a working model of geothermal space cooling & heating system for energy savings and demand reduction for residential, school and commercial building applications. For analysis purposes ground heat exchanger is prepared for extracting energy from ground along with a heat pump and energy is delivered to the environment for space heating in winter and vice versa in summer. To make it a complete working model, temperatures of the soil, time required in changing the temperature of the air in specified area and heat exchange through pipe and radiator, considering losses in pipe are being calculated. The suitable material for pipe has been selected considering ground heat transfer and economics for different pipe materials. The length of the pipe has been determined depending on the heating and cooling load. The effect of flow rate on heat exchange and the length of the pipe have also been studied and a relationship between the pipe length and the heat exchange has been formulated and presented.