Financial and Environmental Analysis of Geothermal Heat Pump Utilization in Shiraz City of Iran

Abstract

Due to the shortage of fossil fuels and their subsequent environmental issues caused by carbon emission, significant attention is being attracted to renewable energy sources in scientific efforts. Among these, geothermal resource is specifically useful in regions with underground potential due to low operational costs and high system efficiencies. Ground source heat pump (GSHP) utilized for building heating and cooling is a system commonly employed in this field. This paper aims to evaluate the overall environmental and financial benefits of GSHP employment in Shiraz, a major city in Iran, to provide heating and cooling of residential constructed buildings in 2017, as compared to common utilized system, natural gas. The result demonstrates that in case of system substitution for 2725 apartments with GSHP systems, an approximate annual amount of 29.6 million cubic meters of natural gas is saved and consequently, 42216.6 tons of yearly carbon emission is reduced. Furthermore, the country can export the natural gas to its neighbors and benefits 1118320.5 $.