Regulatory economics: Should geothermal heat pumps qualify for state renewable energy standards?

2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 30-32
Author(s):  
Richard A. Barclay
Author(s):  
Livio de Santoli

Building sustainability, in term of energy efficiency, low-impact building materials, renewable energy, has experienced significant growth during the past years. In response to the growing dependence on fossil fuels and importations, due in part to the increase of energy consumption in the residential sector (in 2009 46,9 Mtep, 3% more than 2008) and the recent European directives (i.e. EU 2009/28/CE) requiring CO2 emissions cut of up to 13% in 2020, there is interest in promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, which are suitable for residential applications. In this paper we present an overview on actions related to minimization of buildings energy consumption in Italy. Prevalent line of action is to improve the energy performances of building envelope (Dlgs 192/05) using insulated frames, walls and roofs and replacing heat generators with condensing boilers. In addition to national directives, ONRE Report 2011 (National Observatory on building regulations) shows that 831 Municipalities (10% more than 2010) establish mandatory targets for insulation, photovoltaic solar panels, solar water heaters, heat pumps use, correct buildings orientation, saving of water resource and local materials use. In addiction an efficient energy rating of the buildings could promote the spread of energy efficiency measurement and consequently facilitate their implementation. The new energy rating system should meet international standards, regarding environment and energy aspects, and respect territorial needs.


Author(s):  
Xinli Lu ◽  
David R. Larson ◽  
Thomas R. Holm

Groundwater source heat pumps exploit the difference between the ground surface temperature and the nearly constant temperature of shallow groundwater. This project characterizes two areas for geothermal heating and cooling potential, Mason County in central Illinois and the American Bottoms area in southwestern Illinois. Both areas are underlain by thick sand and gravel aquifers and groundwater is readily available. Weather data, including monthly high and low temperatures and heating and cooling degree days, were compiled for both study areas. The heating and cooling requirements for a single-family house were estimated using two independent models that use weather data as input. The groundwater flow rates needed to meet these heating and cooling requirements were calculated using typical heat pump coefficient of performance values. The groundwater in both study areas has fairly high hardness and iron concentrations and is close to saturation with calcium and iron carbonates. Using the groundwater for cooling may induce the deposition of scale containing one or both of these minerals.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (16) ◽  
pp. 5119
Author(s):  
Tomasz Sliwa ◽  
Tomasz Kowalski ◽  
Dominik Cekus ◽  
Aneta Sapińska-Śliwa

Currently, renewable energy is increasingly important in the energy sector. One of the so-called renewable energy sources is geothermal energy. The most popular solution implemented by both small and large customers is the consumption of low-temperature geothermal energy using borehole heat exchanger (BHE) systems assisted by geothermal heat pumps. Such an installation can operate regardless of geological conditions, which makes it extremely universal. Borehole heat exchangers are the most important elements of this system, as their design determines the efficiency of the entire heating or heating-and-cooling system. Filling/sealing slurry is amongst the crucial structural elements. In borehole exchangers, reaching the highest possible thermal conductivity of the cement slurry endeavors to improve heat transfer between the rock mass and the heat carrier. The article presents a proposed design for such a sealing slurry. Powdered magnesium was used as an additive to the cement. The approximate cost of powdered magnesium is PLN 70–90 per kg (EUR 15–20/kg). Six different slurry formulations were tested. Magnesium flakes were used in designs A, B, C, and magnesium shavings in D, E and F. The samples differed in the powdered magnesium content BWOC (by weight of cement). The parameters of fresh and hardened sealing slurries were tested, focusing mainly on the thermal conductivity parameter. The highest thermal conductivity values were obtained in design C with the 45% addition of magnesium flakes BWOC.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18(33) (4) ◽  
pp. 250-258
Author(s):  
Anna Klepacka

The aim of this article was to show the position of Poland in the renewable energy subsectors among the European Union countries. The research covered the areas of biomass, solar heating and heat pumps, showing the degree of their utilization, power required to drive the system and their production in 2016. The provided information was supplemented with a revenues per employee in thousand euros in chosen subsectors of renewable energy sources in the year 2016. The main tool for carrying out the set objective was the use of descriptive and comparative methods. The results of the survey demonstrated Poland’s prominent place in the sector of liquid biofuels (1st place in EU), thanks to the significant supply of raw materials as well as development perspectives in solar energy, which is confirmed by the world's statistics indicating a record number of photovoltaic installations fitted (PV).


1996 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.J. Hughes ◽  
J.A. Shonder

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrijana Stevanović ◽  
Boban Jolović

One of the most used renewable energy sources worldwide is geothermal energy. Itrepresents the heat, originated by natural processes happen in the Earth interior. The hot springsphenomena are the most frequent natural manifestation of geothermal activity.Geothermal potentiality of some area can be estimated based on geothermal gradient. Geothermalgradient is a conductive terrestrial parameter that represents the degree of increasing of the Earthtemperature vs. depth. It is usually expressed in ⁰C/m or ⁰C/km. Different areas have differentthermal gradients and thus different geothermal potential. Generally, higher geothermal gradientscorrespond to areas containing more geothermal energy.Geothermal characteristics of the territory of the Republic of Srpska are closely related to itscomplex geological setting. It is the reason why geothermal characteristics are different from areato area. Higher geothermal potentiality is recognised in the northern parts of the entity, in the firstorder in Semberija, Posavina and Banja Luka regions.The use of geothermal energy with different fluid temperatures can be considered throughthe Lindaldiagram, who firstly proposed acomprehensive scale with appropriate temperatures for differentuses. High temperature fluids are mostly used for electricity production and moderate and lowtemperature fluids for the direct use.Despite the fact that the territory of the Republic of Srpska hasfavourable geothermal properties, utilization of this kind of renewable energy resource isinadequate. Especially indicative are data about the use of geothermal energy by heat pumps (inbad sense) in comparison with praxis of developed countries.Chemical composition of thermal waters plays very important role and can be used in itsexploration stage, for analyses of possibility of its use and for prediction of exploitation effects, aswell. This kind of renewable energyresource, highly ecologically recommended, must be consideredmore seriously in the future in the Republic of Srpska. Furthermore, it must be put into the energystrategic documentsin appropriate manner.


Author(s):  
Praveen Cheekatamarla ◽  
Vishaldeep Sharma ◽  
Bo Shen

Abstract Economic and population growth is leading to increased energy demand across all sectors – buildings, transportation, and industry. Adoption of new energy consumers such as electric vehicles could further increase this growth. Sensible utilization of clean renewable energy resources is necessary to sustain this growth. Thermal needs in a building pose a significant challenge to the energy infrastructure. Supporting the current and future building thermal energy needs to offset the total electric demand while lowering the carbon footprint and enhancing the grid flexibility is presented in this study. Performance assessment of heat pumps, renewable energy, non-fossil fuel-based cogeneration systems, and their hybrid configurations was conducted. The impact of design configuration, coefficient of performance (COP), electric grid's primary energy efficiency on the key attributes of total carbon footprint, life cycle costs, operational energy savings, and site-specific primary energy efficiency are analyzed and discussed in detail.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henning Francke

Abstract A geothermal heat plant is a not only a source of heat, but, in general, also a sink for relevant amounts of electricity, consumed mainly by the pump(s). This electricity demand is usually not given much attention although being decisive for operation costs, but also offering chances for demand side management as a variable consumer. From the perspective of an integrated energy system, geothermal installations basically move energy from the electricity sector into the heat sector, similar to compression heat pumps. The main heat pump performance indicator is the ratio between invested energy and useful heat, the COP. This paper transfers the COP concept to geothermal sites, by defining and determining the quantity for a selection of mostly German geothermal sites.


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