4424 -- A Simplified Tool for Assessing the Feasibility of Ground-Source Heat Pump Projects

This paper describes the development and validation of a simulation model for a feasibility assessment tool for ground-source heat pump (GSHP) projects. The model consists of a simplified building load and GSHP system simulator. It was developed to perform annual building energy use evaluation in order to estimate heat pump system and ground loop size and performance. The model can serve to evaluate vertical closed-loop, horizontal closed-loop, and groundwater systems for commercial, residential, institutional, and industrial buildings. The algorithms were put into a spreadsheet program and incorporated into a free software package developed by the Canadian government to evaluate renewable energy projects. A comparison of the model's ground-loop modeling results with published data from design software packages is presented. The comparative results show that the ground-loop calculation is in good agreement with the average value predicted by commercial design software. These results indicate that the simplified model meets the requirements to perform prefeasibility analysis.

Units: SI