Geothermal Cooling
In Australia the need for cooling in buildings is high due to the climate we experience. This is traditionally dealt with via air cooled heat rejection as part of a heating, ventilation and air conditioning system (HVAC).
A geothermal air conditioning system operates the same as a conventional air conditioning system with the heat rejection being the only difference. The installation is no different to a conventional air conditioning system. In a Geothermal system the Earth is used to reject heat, drilling into the ground around 100m (closed loop).
Air conditioning performance is measured as a Co-efficient of Performance (COP). COP refers to the amount of cooling or heating in kWhr that is produced from each kilowatt of electricity that is consumed. Conventional systems have a COP of approximately 3-4 meaning that for every kW of electricity consumed, there is 3-4kW of cooling or heating produced. A geothermal system has a COP of around 6-7 (6 – 7 kW of heating or cooling is produced). The performance of a conventional system will reduce significantly the hotter or colder the ambient air temperature becomes as transfer of heat reduces. This makes the efficiency gain for a geothermal system even greater.
At Elecseed we have experience in the design of HVAC Geothermal systems using mainstream manufacturers such as Daikin, with several projects delivered via our staff.