The cooling potential of earth–air heat exchangers for domestic buildings in a desert climate

A theoretical model of an earth–air heat exchanger (EAHE) is developed for predicting the outlet air temperature and cooling potential of these devices in a hot, arid climate. The model is validated against other published models and shows good agreement. A sub-soil temperature model adapted for the specific conditions in Kuwait is presented and its output compared with measurements in two locations. A building model representative of a typical Kuwaiti dwelling has been implemented and all the models have been encoded within the TRNSYS-IISIBAT environment. A typical meteorological year for Kuwait was prepared and used to predict the cooling loads of the air-conditioned dwelling with and without the assistance of the EAHE. Simulation results showed that the EAHE could provide a reduction of 1700 W in the peak cooling load, with an indoor temperature reduction of 2.8 °C during summer peak hours (middle of July). The EAHE is shown to have the potential for reducing cooling energy demand in a typical house by 30% over the peak summer season.