Energy Saving Analysis of Geothermal Heat Exchanger for Horizontal and Vertical Configuration for Tropical Country

The surface of earth acts as a huge source and sink of heat. Generally, the temperature of earth’s surface below few metres remains constant throughout the year. The Geothermal Heat Exchanger uses earth as heat source or sink and helps in cooling and heating purposes. They are getting more interest nowadays because of their potential to reduce primary energy consumption and also in reduction of greenhouse gases emission. This paper aims to provide energy saving potential of Geothermal Heat Exchanger in cooling mode for Indian climate conditions. A residential building has been considered to carry out the study, and this building has been assumed to be at various Indian cities. User-friendly software has been developed for this purpose based on the psychrometry of the air conditioning system. Further, the cost of laying pipes has been considered based on the design of the Geothermal Heat Exchanger system, and attempt has been made to calculate payback period of the system. Energy saving analysis has been done and results show that in Bikaner, New Delhi and Chennai energy saving was 532.93 kWh, 457.67 kWh and 186.69 kWh, respectively.