Experimental study of a ground-coupled heat pump combined with thermal solar collectors

This paper presents the experimental study of a ground-coupled beat pump used in a 180 m(2) private residence and combined with thermal solar collectors. This process, called GEOSOL, meets domestic hot water and heating-cooling building energy needs. Solar heat is used as a priority for domestic hot water heating and when the preset water temperature is reached, excess solar energy is injected into the ground via boreholes. This system has the advantage to contribute to the balance of the ground loads, increasing the operating time of the solar collectors and preventing overheating problems. After 11 months in operation, the power extracted and injected into the ground had average values of 40.3 and 39.5 W/m, respectively. Energy injected into the ground represents 34% of the heat extracted, and the heat pump's coefficient of performance (COP) in heating mode had an average value of 3.75. In addition, the domestic hot water solar fraction had an average value higher than 60% for the first 11 months in operation. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.