Performance analysis of earth–pipe–air heat exchanger for summer cooling

Earth–pipe–air heat exchanger (EPAHE) systems can be used to reduce the cooling load of buildings in summer. A transient and implicit model based on computational fluid dynamics was developed to predict the thermal performance and cooling capacity of earth–air–pipe heat exchanger systems. The model was developed inside the FLUENT simulation program. The model developed is validated against experimental investigations on an experimental set-up in Ajmer (Western India). Good agreement between simulated results and experimental data is obtained. Effects of the operating parameters (i.e. the pipe material, air velocity) on the thermal performance of earth–air–pipe heat exchanger systems are studied. The 23.42 m long EPAHE system discussed in this paper gives cooling in the range of 8.0–12.7 °C for the flow velocities 2–5 m/s. Investigations on steel and PVC pipes have shown that the performance of the EPAHE system is not significantly affected by the material of the buried pipe (pipe). Velocity of air through the pipe is found to greatly affect the performance of EPAHE system. The COP of the EPAHE system discussed in this paper varies from 1.9 to 2.9 for increase in velocity from 2.0 to 5.0 m/s.