How Do GSHP’s Work?
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Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHPs) use low level heat energy created by solar gain in the near surface layers of the earth to extract energy which can be used for space and water heating. In principle, a GSHP uses a refrigeration system in reverse to extract low temperature heat from one location (the ‘source’) and deliver higher temperature heat to another location (the ‘sink’). Electricity is used to drive the pumps. This operational principle can be used to produce heating as well as cooling energy.
Heat Pumps use refrigerant gases and a compressor to absorb heat from the ground or ground water. This in turn delivers heat to the target building. A heat exchanger, called an evaporator, is used to interface between the fluid from the buried pipes and the heat pump. GSHP systems use the gained energy to heat another fluid – usually water – via another heat exchanger, called a condenser. This can be used to distribute the heat (at ~40-65ºC) in a building and return it to the heat pump at about 35ºC.
The efficiency or SCOP (Seasonal coefficient of performance) is very much dependent on the temperature of a heat source and the output temperature of the heat pump. The higher the heat source temperature and the lower the output temperature of a heat pump, the better efficiency. Most modern GSHP’s can achieve SCOP’s of 4 or more, with the best performing being able to achieve around 6 if used efficiently.
Applications
GSHPs are commonly used for space heating utilising water as a distribution medium. Radiators can be used to deliver heat into the space; however, they are particularly suitable and most efficient for low-temperature distribution systems such as under-floor heating.
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