Calculating Energy Production and Saving of GSHP in Terms of Load Characteristics

Abstract

A set of generalized formulae for calculating energy production and saving with GSHP both for heating and cooling applications is introduced. Once we have reasonable estimates of thermal output produced by GSHP, we can easily calculate geothermal contribution at source side and energy saving at load side. The most important step for making reliable statistics on energy utilization with GSHP would be the reasonable estimates of capacity factor defined as equivalent full load hours per year according to the load types such as residential houses, commercial and public buildings, greenhouses, and so on. Because the full load hours of building types often vary by a factor of four or more, sample monitoring for more than a year is essential for reasonable estimates of utilization. However, monitoring is not always possible, especially for small installations, so that we also have to use other references such as building standards for the specified load types at each climate zone.