Numerical analysis of earth air heat exchangers at operating conditions in arid climates

This paper presents the modeling and simulation of an earth air heat exchanger (EAHE), employed as an air-conditioning device for buildings in the climate conditions of the south of Algeria. The earth tubes buried in the ground can offer considerable advantages in terms of energy savings. The appropriate depth of the buried tubes was calculated taking into account the physical properties of the soil in the region under study and using a specific program developed by the authors. A parametric analysis was carried out taking into account the length and the radius of the pipe and the velocity of the air in the pipe. The results of performance and overall energy savings are presented. The maximum daily cooling capacity of the EAHE studied was 1.755 kWh. Results showed that a simple EAHE system can provide 246.815 kWh in a period of one year.