Masters Theses

Date of Award

8-1982

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Mechanical Engineering

Major Professor

Robert L. Reid

Abstract

The series solar assisted heat pump heating system with ground coupled storage in the University of Tennessee's TECH House I in Knoxville, Tennessee, has been modeled using TRNSYS and GROCS. The simulated thermal performance of the house was compared to the experimental performance for four week period during the 1980-1981 heating season and was found to be accurate. Both simulation and experimental results showed that ground coupling of thermal storage led to the elimination of electric resistance backup heat and a large reduction in the peak heating demand of the house.

A parametric study for typical Knoxville area heating season was completed using the verified model. Simulations were made using three different thermal storage volumes subject to two different environmental conditions (ground coupled and outdoor), three collectors of different construction over various collector areas, and two heat pump designs in a series solar assisted heat pump configuration. Results showed that, in general, a ground coupled storage tank performs better than a storage tank placed outdoors in the Knoxville area. Application of a next generation heat pump resulted in the most significant impact on the seasonal performance factor. As expected, higher perfomance collectors and larger collector areas led to higher system performance. The seasonal performance factor was found to be independent of thermal storage volume for collector areas larger than 60 m2.

An economic analysis was done using the results of the parametric study to compare series solar heat pump systems against a stand alone heat pump system on an incremental cost basis. It was shown, based on the economic assumptions made, that with current electricity prices and annual inflation rates, the series solar heat pump system cannot economically compete with the stand alone heat pump system in the Knoxville area. In the future, the availability of the solar investment tax credit will be an important factor in making solar systems economically competitive. Without this tax incentive, the An economic cost of solar components must be reduced. incentive for ground coupling of heating systems should be investigated by electric utilities because of the large reductions in the peak demand.

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