Performance Analysis of a Ground Source Heat Pump System Using Mine Water as Heat Sink and Source (ST-16-017)

This paper summarizes a case study of an innovative ground source heat pump (GSHP) system that uses flooded mines as a heat source and heat sink. This GSHP system provides space conditioning to a 56,000 sq ft (5,203 m2) newly constructed research facility, in conjunction with an on-campus existing steam heating system and an air-cooled chiller as supplementary systems. Heat transfer performance and overall efficiency of the GSHP system were analysed using the available measured data from January through July 2014. The performance analysis identified some issues with using mine water for cooling and the integration of the GSHP system with the existing steam heating system. Recommendations were made for the control and operation of the GSHP system for its improved performance. These recommended strategies, in conjunction with the available measured data, were used to predict the annual energy performance of the system. Finally, the energy and cost savings and CO2 emission reduction potential of the GSHP system were estimated by comparing with a baseline scenario. This case study provides insights into the performance of and potential issues with the mine-water source heat pump system, which is relatively less explored compared to other GSHP system design and configurations.