Application of GHP on commercial-residential Buildings

Geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) are the fastest growing application of renewable energy in housing today. Its main advantage is that it utilyses low temperature heat accumulated in the ground, which is available in all areas of the world. This work presents the application of geothermal heats pumps in commercial and residential building for both, heating and cooling. The main unit of GHP system is the heat pump, located in the building, which can either raise or lower the temperature of a working fluid, using ground heat exchangers either as a low temperature heat source or a heat sink. The described GHP system will be implemented in a commertial and residential building in Osijek area. The building is designed in accordance to Swiss MINERGIE standard, which limits the total energy consumption to 42 kWh/m2. The building's energy balance was made, and heat pump sized accordingly. Different configurations of ground source heat exchangers were analysed, and a solution that would statisfy the required refrigeration capacity was proposed.