Energy modelling and innovative design
Ground Source Energy Systems – commonly referred to as geothermal heating and cooling or GeoExchange – create a recycling of energy using a ground-coupled heat exchanger (piping underground), a heat pump, and a distribution system (forced air or radiant) to circulate warm or cool air throughout a building.
In the summer, heat from the building is stored in the ground in order to keep the building cool.
In the winter, the stored heat in the ground from the summer is retrieved for more efficient heating during the winter months.
Ground source energy systems can be quite complex. The temperature of the ground needs to be taken into account and balanced with every system. This is where the term “geothermal” is a misnomer, as there is nothing “free” about the energy used in Ground Source systems. True geothermal energy – common in places such as Iceland – takes advantage of the core heat of the earth, while ground source systems instead use the earth as a thermal battery, exchanging energy in the winter and summer with the neutral earth conditions.
Energy modelling and creative design by our team of professionals carefully accommodates for the amount of heat being released and extracted from the ground throughout the year. This process is detailed and heavily reliant on specialized tools and many years of experience designing, installing and operating systems for a variety of buildings in different parts of the world. Learn more about ground source energy systems and how it all works.
HOW IT ALL WORKS
HEAT PUMP
Found inside the building and uses compression to either create heating or cooling for the building. The heat pump is connected to the ground-coupled heat exchanger (GHX) and circulates a fluid through the GHX in order to store/retrieve energy.
Ground-coupled heat exchanger (GHX)
Underground piping that is in contact with the earth in order to store or retrieve energy. These are either closed or open loop underground piping systems.
Distribution System
Moves the heating and cooling energy throughout the building. For Commercial applications the HVAC system can take a variety of forms, including traditional heat pumps, Variable Refrigerant systems, or central plants with fan coils/ air handlers. The decisions is ultimately up to the building design team to find the best solution for the intended application.
District systems
District systems are a more advanced application, interconnecting various building to better utilize the ground source energy and achieve greater cost and operating efficiencies.
In a truly balanced district system, the ground loop size can be reduced significantly by having several different units drawing and expelling heat throughout the year. On their own, each unit would need a bigger ground loop in order to handle the heat being drawn or expelled, with ground temperatures that are more extreme. An ideal example would be to couple an ice rink with a swimming pool, where the constant heat rejection of the rink continually warms the pool. A less obvious example would be to couple commercial offices (cooling dominant) with single family homes (heating dominant) to create a similar symbiotic relationship.
Ice Rink
In order to make ice for the indoor rink, the refrigeration equipment expels heat into the ground loop. Waste energy that may have normally been expelled into the atmosphere can now be stored in the ground.
Houses
The houses in the community draw on heat from the ground loop. The heat used is replenished by the heat expelled from the ice rink.
Commercial Building
A commercial building in the area draws heat from the ground loop and expels heat to the loop as required.