Geothermal Energy: Residential Space Heating

The purpose of this study, which was carried out under the auspices of the DGRST, was to determine the best way to use geothermal hot water for residential space heating. It quickly became apparent that the type of heating apparatus used in the housing units was most important and that heat pumps could be a valuable asset, making it possible to extract even more geothermal heat and thus substantially improve the cost benefit of the systems. Many factors play a significant role in this problem. Therefore, after a first stage devoted to analyzing the problem through a manual method which proved quite useful, the systematic consideration of all important aspects led us to use a computer to optimize solutions and process a large number of cases. The software used for this general study can also be used to work out particular cases: it is now available to any interested party through DGRST. This program makes it possible to: (1) take climatic conditions into account in a very detailed manner, including temperatures as well as insolation. 864 cases corresponding to 36 typical days divided into 24 hours each were chosen to represent the heating season. They make it possible to define the heating needs of any type of housing unit. (2) simulate and analyze the behavior in practice of a geothermal heating system when heat is extracted from the well by a simple heat exchanger. This simulation makes it possible to evaluate the respective qualities of various types of heating apparatus which can be used in homes. It also makes it possible to define the best control systems for the central system and substations and to assess quite accurately the presence of terminal controls, such as radiators with thermostatically controlled valves. (3) determine to what extent the addition of a heat pump makes it possible to improve the cost benefit of geothermal heating. When its average characteristics and heating use conditions (price, coefficient of performance, length of utilization, electrical rates, etc.) are taken into account, the heat pump should not be scaled for maximum heating power. Consequently, the program considers several possible sizes, with different installation schemes, and selects for each case the value which corresponds to the lowest cost of heating