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Research Publishing: Trim Size: 8.50in x 11.00in (IEEE proceedings)

plea2007cd:

The potential of earth-air heat exchangers for low

energy cooling of buildings
Abdullahi Ahmed1, Andrew Miller2 and Kenneth Ip3
1, 2, 3

School of Environment and Technology, University of Brighton, Brighton, United Kingdom.

ABSTRACT: An Earth-Air Heat Exchanger (EAHX) is a simple subterranean cooling/heating system

that utilises the stable soil temperature that is cooler and warmer than ambient temperature in
summer and winter respectively. The rise in ambient summer temperature is bringing about building
overheating in the UK. There is increased standard demanded by the building regulation to increase
building energy efficiency and the use of low carbon technologies. The paper studied the potential of
the earth-air heat exchanger in reducing the need for air-conditioning under UK climatic and soil
condition. The system has been evaluated using thermal modelling in TRNSYS simulation
environment. Results show opportunity for reducing indoor temperature using EAHX.
Keywords: earth-air heat exchanger, passive/low energy cooling, ground heat sinks, thermal comfort.

1. INTRODUCTION
The Earth-Air Heat Exchanger (EAHX) also known
as earth cooling tube is a subterranean cooling
system that consists of a length of pipe or network of
pipes buried at reasonable depth below the ground
surface, Figure 1. Ventilation air supply is passed
through the pipes and the difference in temperature
between the pipe surface and the air drives the precooling/pre-heating of the ventilation air. The
magnitude of the heat exchange between air and
pipe is dependent on factors such as, soil
temperature, air temperature, pipe dimensions, air
flow rate, pipe burial depth and soil and pipe thermal
properties (density, heat capacity and thermal
conductivity) [1,2].
There is significant evidence of summer
temperature rise in the UK [3], and the rise in the use
of air-conditioning [4]. The concept of cooling using
EAHX is well established, but the behaviour of such
systems depends on climatic and soil conditions [5].
The dynamic thermal behaviour of an EAHX is
therefore not universal and needs to be studied
within the context of climatic, soil and building load
conditions. The main aim of the research project is
to study the dynamic behaviour of EAHX under UK
climatic and soil conditions and also study the
potential of the system for improving comfort
conditions in buildings and energy savings.

Figure 2: Earth-air heat exchanger

After rigorous review of existing models/tools, the
air-soil heat exchanger model (Type 460) developed
by Hollmuller and Lachal [7] has been selected and
adopted for this study. The earth-air heat exchanger
model has been coupled with the building interface
TRNBLD to study the impact of the earth tube on
indoor temperature.

3.0 HYDRO-THERMAL DYNAMICS

The thermal performance of an earth-air heat
exchanger is affected by the pipe configuration and
air velocity, burial depth and inlet air condition. In this
study the effect of pipe configuration (length,
diameter, burial depth) and air velocity have been
evaluated. Ambient conditions for London have been
used as input to the simulation programme. The
simulation has been carried out for the month of July
and for a 24 hour period that corresponds to the
maximum ambient temperature. Figure 4 (a-d)
shows the statistical variation of the pipe outlet air
temperature for different scenarios.

2. METHODOLOGY AND SIMULATION

The research was carried out using thermal
modelling of the EAHX evaluated within the
Transient System Simulation Software Program
(TRNSYS) environment. TRNSYS is a complete and
modular simulation environment for the study of
dynamic systems [6]. The open modular structure
within TRNSYS allows for the use of inter-connection
of existing components and user written components
to develop a simulation project.

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Research Publishing: Trim Size: 8.50in x 11.00in (IEEE proceedings)

(a) Air velocity (2-8m/s) 0.4m diameter, 2m deep,

30mlength, inlet temperature (21.3-28.3oC)
30
Air temperature (oC)

26

Air temperature (oC)

Max
Min
Mean

28

24
22
20
18
2

4
5
6
Air velocity (m/s)

(b) Pipe depth (1-4m), 30m length, 2m depth,

0.4m diameter, inlet temp. (21.3-28.3oC)
30
Max
28
Min
26
Mean
24
22
20

20
18
16
0.3

0.5
0.6
Pipe diameter (m)

16

(c) Pipe diameter (0.3-0.8 m), 30m length, 4m/s air velocity,
2m deep, inlet temperature (21.3-28.3 oC)
26
Max
24
Min
Mean
22

14

plea2007cd:

18

0.8

Air temperature (oC)

16

Air temperature (oC)

November 12, 2007

2
3
Pipe depth (m)

(d) Pipe length (30-80m) 0.4m diameter, 2m deep,

air velocity 4m/s, inlet temperature (21.3-28.3 oC)
26
Max
24
Min
Mean
22
20
18
16
14

30

40

50
60
70
Pipe Length (m)

80

Figure 2: Outlet air temperature for different pipe configurations: a) Air velocity, b) pipe depth c) Pipe diameter d)
Tube depth.
The EAHX has been evaluated within TRNSYS
The figure reveals some of the inter-relationships of
environment to study the performance of the earthlength, air velocity, diameter and depth. In cooling
air system and its impact on the indoor environment.
mode outlet air temperature decreases with length of
pipe and pipe depth. The pipe outlet temperature
REFERENCES
increases with increased air velocity pipe diameter
and higher air velocity.
1.
Kumar, R., S. Rajesh, and S.C. Kaushik,

5. INDOOR TEMPERATURE
The potential of the earth-air heat exchanger for
reducing indoor temperature has been studied. A
building model has been developed for a single
storey office building in London and the indoor
temperature simulated for a free running building
and a building with EAHX. as a source of ventilation
air. The results show significant improvement in
indoor temperature using EAHX. The building has
dimensions (5m X 10m), values of internal heat gain
and occupancy levels have been taken from BSRIA
Rules of Thumb [8]. The indoor temperature of the
free running building rises above 27C for over 6
hours, while temperature of the building with earthair heat exchanger remained below 27C for the
simulation period.

6.

CONCLUSION

7.

The paper presented results of a study of the

potential of the earth-air heat exchanger for reducing
indoor temperature in buildings. It has demonstrated
the impact of the various parameters on the thermal
behaviour of the earth-air heat exchanger.

8.

2.

3.

4.
5.

Performance evaluation and energy conservation

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Market Transformation Programme, Policy Brief:
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Piechowski, M., Heat and Mass Transfer Model
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