Exergy analysis of a novel CHP-GSHP coupling system

A novel natural gas based combined heating and power (CHP) and ground source heat pump (GSHP) coupling system has been suggested and analyzed in terms of first law of thermodynamics. In this paper, the performance of the novel system is investigated from the perspective of second law of thermodynamics, and the calculations are completed by the combination of Aspen plus simulation and theoretical derivation. The research results show that, the novel system can obtain total exergy efficiency 22.58%, about 3.7% higher than the reference system. So as to reveal the essential energy saving character about the novel system, the exergy loss distribution differences between the novel and reference system are discussed. Moreover, the key operation parameter which will affect the performance of the novel system is also investigated. The final research results show that, the novel integration approach will provide a good reference for the other similar high-efficiency energy system.