Energy Conversion and Management, Vol.178, 200-216, 2018
Techno-economic evaluation of multiple energy piles for a ground-coupled heat pump system
A technical and economic feasibility study of multiple energy piles (EPs) for a ground-coupled heat pump (GCHP) system is presented in this paper. The GCHP system energy performance and life-cycle cost (LCC) are evaluated, it is found that the system energy output (heating and cooling) could meet a domestic building comfortable environment requirement with the annual average COP of 3.63 and EER of 4.62. The LCC evaluation indicates that the system net present value (NPV) is approximately 26,095 at the market discount rate of 8.75% for a 20-year operating period. Moreover, the payback period of the GCHP system is approximately 4.31 years, which is sensitive to the main parameters including electricity price, capital investment and energy generation. Furthermore, the low discount rate and high energy generation are beneficial to the GCHP system with the high NPV and cash flows. The capital price of the system should be regulated to a lower level for the larger market potential.
Keywords:Ground-coupled heat pump;Energy pile;System performance;Life-cycle cost;Net present value;Payback period