On-site performance investigation of the existing ground source heat pump systems in residential buildings in cold area

Abstract

In this paper, three typical ground source heat pump (GSHP) projects applied to residential buildings in cold area in China are investigated. According to the on-site tested data, such as temperatures and flow rates of the circulating water on the user side and ground side and the power consumption, the operating performance of the whole system is evaluated. The results of the on-site test show that some equipment capacity of the residential GSHP systems investigated in this study was inappropriate in the actual operation conditions. The main problem of the systems is the improper design with “large flow rate and small temperature difference.” In general, the investigated systems are in an operation mode with high energy consumption, which means they have great energy-saving potential. In addition, compared with the systems applied to pure residential buildings, those employed in mixed residential and commercial buildings can efficiently reduce the thermal imbalance of the underground. Finally, some possible energy-saving retrofit measures have been suggested according to the results.