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

Abstract

A theoretical model of an earth–air heat exchanger (EAHE) isdeveloped 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 wasprepared 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 1700Win the peak cooling load, with an indoor temperature reduction of 2.8 1C 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.