Experimental performance analysis of a solar assisted ground-source heat pump greenhouse heating system

Ground-source heat pumps (GSHPs), also known as geothermal heat pumps (GHPs), are recognized to be outstanding heating, cooling and water heating systems, and have been used since 1998 in the Turkish market. Greenhouses also have important economical potential in Turkey's agricultural sector. In addition to solar energy gain, greenhouses should be heated during nights and cold days. In order to establish optimum growth conditions in greenhouses, renewable energy sources should be utilized as much as possible. It is expected that effective use of heat pumps with a suitable technology in the modern greenhouses will play a leading role in Turkey in the foreseeable future. The main objective of the present study is to investigate to the performance characteristics of a solar assisted ground-source heat pump greenhouse heating system (SAGSHPGHS) with a 50m vertical 1 × 1/4in. nominal diameter U-bend ground heat exchanger using exergy analysis method. This system was designed and constructed in Solar Energy Institute of Ege University, Izmir, Turkey. The exergy transports between the components and the destructions in each of the components of the SAGSHPGHS are determined for the average measured parameters obtained from the experimental results. Exergetic efficiencies of the system components are determined in an attempt to assess their individual performances and the potential for improvements is also presented. The heating coefficient of performances of the ground-source heat pump unit and the overall system are obtained to be 2.64 and 2.38, respectively, while the exergetic efficiency of the overall system is found to be 67.7%. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved