Experimental performance analysis of a solar assisted ground-source heat pump greenhouse heating system

The main objective of the present study is to investigate to the performance characteristics of a solar assisted ground-source heat pump greenhouse heating system (SAGSHPGHS) with a 50 m vertical 1 × 1/4 in. nominal diameter U-bend ground heat exchanger using exergy analysis method. This system was designed and constructed in Solar Energy Institute of Ege University, Izmir, Turkey. The exergy transports between the components and the destructions in each of the components of the SAGSHPGHS are determined for the average measured parameters obtained from the experimental results. Exergetic efficiencies of the system components are determined in an attempt to assess their individual performances and the potential for improvements is also presented. The heating coefficient of performances of the ground-source heat pump unit and the overall system are obtained to be 2.64 and 2.38, respectively, while the exergetic efficiency of the overall system is found to be 67.7%.