Abstract
This paper presents data, analyses, measures of performance, and conclusions for a ground-source heat pump (GSHP) providing space conditioning to a 345m2 house whose envelope is made of structural insulated panels (SIP). The entire thermal load of this SIP house with RSI-3.7 (RUS-21) walls, triple pane windows with a U-factor of 1.64 W/m2•K (0.29 Btu/h•ft2•oF) and solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) of 0.25, a roof assembly with overall thermal resistance of about RSI-8.8 (RUS-50) and low leakage rates of 0.74 ACH at 50Pa was satisfied with a 2.16-Ton (7.56 kW) GSHP unit consuming negligible (9.83kWh) auxiliary heat during peak winter season. The highest and lowest heating COP achieved was 4.90 (October) and 3.44 (February), respectively. The highest and lowest cooling COP achieved was 6.09 (April) and 3.88 (August). These COPs are calculated on the basis of the total power input (including duct, ground loop, and control power losses ). The second Law (Exergy) analysis provides deep insight into how systemic inefficiencies are distributed among the various GSHP components. Opportunities for design and further performance improvements are identified. Through Exergy analysis we provide a true measure of how closely actual performance approaches the ideal, and it unequivocally identifies, better than energy analysis does, the sources and causes of lost work, the root cause of system inefficiencies.
