Energy analysis of a solar-ground source heat pump system with vertical closed-loop for heating applications

A heat pump system is the ideal way to extend the heat supply of existing oil or gas fired heating system. Consumption costs are lowered through the use of free energy from the environment, and the dependence on fossils fuels simultaneously reduces. In order to investigate the performance of the solar-ground source heat pump system in the province of Erzurum having cold climate, an experimental set-up was constructed. The experimental apparatus consisted of solar collectors, a ground heat exchanger (GHE), a liquid-to-liquid vapor compression heat pump, water circulating pumps and other measurement equipments. In this study, the performance of the system was experimentally investigated. The experimental results were obtained from October to May of 2008–2009. The experimentally obtained results are used to calculate the heat pump coefficient of performance (COP) and the system performance (COPS). The coefficient of performance of the heat pump and system were found to be in the range of 3.0–3.4 and 2.7–3.0, respectively. This study also shows that this system could be used for residential heating in the province of Erzurum being a cold climate region of Turkey.

► A heat pump system is the ideal and clean way to extend the heat supply.
► The studies carried out using both sources (solar-ground) together in a cold climate are few in numbers.
► Heat transfer fluid releases to evaporator some energy and goes the GHE to store the energy remaining.
► The system is tested for the first time on the basis of a university study performed for cold climate in the country.