Techno-Economic Analysis of an Earth-Air Heat Exchanger for Cooling and Heating of a Building

In this communication a quasi-steady state mathematical model is developed to predict the air temperature at the outlet of an earth-air heat exchanger and seasonal heating and cooling potential, associated with the use of the exchanger. Seasonal values of heating and cooling potential are estimated theoretically and validated by experiments in two distinct seasons, i.e. winter and summer, corresponding to composite climate of New Delhi (28° 35′ N, 77° 12′ E) India. It is observed that there is significant saving of energy and money by reducing cooling and heating loads on air-conditioners, if earth air heat exchanger is used. There is fair agreement between theoretical values and experimentally observed values of the seasonal values of heating and cooling potentials for each season (i.e. winter and summer).Copyright © 2005 by ASME