Applied Thermal Engineering 27 (2007) 17501755

www.elsevier.com/locate/apthermeng

Coupling of geothermal heat pumps with thermal solar collectors

Valentin Trillat-Berdal *, Bernard Souyri, Gilbert Achard
LOCIE Laboratoire Optimisation de la Conception et Ingenierie de lEnvironnement ESIGEC,
Universite de Savoie, Savoie Technolac, 73376 Le Bourget du Lac, France
Received 20 January 2006; accepted 27 July 2006
Available online 26 September 2006

Abstract
The study discussed relates to the design and development of a process consisting of combining a reversible geothermal heat pump
with thermal solar collectors for building heating and cooling and the production of domestic hot water. The proposed process, called
GEOSOL, has been installed in a 180 m2 private residence in 2004. This installation is the subject of long-term experimental follow-up to
analyse the energy-related behavior of the installation at all times of the year. In addition, dierent congurations of this combined system (geothermal heat pump and thermal solar collectors) have been dened and will be simulated numerically using TRNSYS software.
A comparative analysis of these dierent alternative versions will be conducted to determine the best conguration(s) of the GEOSOL
process in terms of energy, economical and environmental performances.
2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Ground-coupled heat pump; Borehole heat exchanger; Ground heat depletion; Thermal solar collectors

1. Introduction
In recent years, under the impetus of a number of parties
(politicians, associations, energy sectors, etc.), the renewable energy market has been growing. However, while in
the public services sector, it can be seen that accounting
for environmental factors is frequently a proactive act,
motivation levels remain low in the general public. Nevertheless, there are energy solutions that are suitable for both
sectors. In this way, the use of incident solar energy via
thermal solar collectors and energy stored in the supercial
layers of the soil (less than one hundred metres deep) via
borehole heat exchangers (BHE) oer clear potential in
terms of valorization both for private residences or small
public buildings due to the suitability of the diuse nature
of these energies for scattered settlements, and for large
public buildings, provided that the soil surface is compatible.
*

Corresponding author. Tel.: +33 4 79 75 88 21; fax: +33 4 79 75 81 44.

E-mail address: Valentin.Trillat-Berdal@etu.univ-savoie.fr (V. TrillatBerdal).
1359-4311/$ - see front matter 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2006.07.022

In this context, Agence De lEnvironnement et de la Matrise de lEnergie (French Agency for Energy and the Environment) is contributing to the funding of a research and
development project proposed by the laboratory LOCIE
(Laboratoire Optimisation de la Conception et Ingenierie
de lEnvironnement Design optimisation and environmental environment engineering laboratory) de lEcole Superieure dIngenieurs de Chambery de luniversite de Savoie
(EngineersCollege of Chambery, University of Savoie)
and three industrial partners: CIAT(1), EcoAlternative(2)
and CLIPSOL(3) which are respectively represented by
Eric Auzenet (Research Engineer, E.Auzenet@ciat.fr),
Pierre-Albert Watier, (Director, Pierre.Watier@ecoalternative.com) and Philippe Papillon (Research Engineer,
Philippe.Papillon@clipsol.com).
(1) CIAT Av. Jean Falconnier, BP 14 01350 Culoz
France
(2) EcoAlternative 251, route de la Serraz ZI de la
Plaisse, 73375 Le Bourget du Lac France
(3) CLIPSOL Parc dActivites Economiques Les Combaruches 73100 Aix-les-Bains, France

V. Trillat-Berdal et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 27 (2007) 17501755

1751

Nomenclature
BHE borehole heat exchanger
COP
coecient of performance
HDPE high-density polyethylene

GCHP ground coupled heat pump

SPF
seasonal performance factor
PSD
plancher solaire direct (oor heating circuit)

The project set up, known as GEOSOL, consists of

designing a system based on the combination of a geothermal heat pump and rooftop thermal solar collectors for
optimum valorization of the incident solar energy, and thus
contribute to improving energy eciency and reducing the
greenhouse eect in the dwelling. In fact, it should be possible to achieve improved energy integration between the
renewable sources available and residences thermal
requirements, while guaranteeing a satisfactory level of
comfort and quality of use under all circumstances.
The geothermal heat pump is used for heating and also
for cooling a building via low-temperature delivery systems. The solar collectors are used to complete the system
in three areas: preheating the domestic hot water, heating
dwelling (via a direct solar oor option [1] or via doping
of the temperature level of the cooling source) and thermal
recharging of the soil during excess solar production periods. Therefore, it will be possible to recharge the soil in
the summer with the heat pump in cooling mode and the
solar collectors to maintain a satisfactory long-term performance coecient of the system.
The coupling of solar collectors to underground can also
help to reduce the length of borehole [2] which can contributes to decrease the cost of the system.
Renewable energies oer great prospects as demonstrated by the study of another combined heat pump

thermal solar collectors system which has been the subject

of a real site experiment in Lugano since 2000 [3].
2. Principle of low-temperature geothermics
Low-temperature geothermics are based on the use of
the heat contained in the soil via embedded heat exchangers and heat pumps. The heat pumps increase the natural
temperature of the soil (between 7 and 12 C in France)
to values of the order of 40 C. They are generally combined with low-temperature delivery systems like oor
heating to achieve the Coecient of Performance or
the COP of more than 3. They can also be reversible (heating mode or cooling mode) and thus be used for cooling in
the summer.
Heat is extracted from the soil by means of closed loop
systems, which exchange heat with the soil via a uid
(waterantifreeze mixture) circulating in high-density polyethylene (HDPE) tubes. There are two types of exchangers:
vertical exchangers and horizontal exchangers.
Our study only relates to BHE (Fig. 1), as it makes it
possible to make use of underground temperature stability
which helps maintain a satisfactory COP value, unlike horizontal exchangers which are embedded at depths between
0.80 and 1.50 m, and in which the performances are
directly related to local climatic conditions [46]. In

to heat
heatpump
pump
Text

SOIL
SOIL

FILLING
FILLI
NG MATERIAL
MA TERIAL
(ciment bentonite
(ciment
bentonitemixture
mixture
or sand)
LIQUID COOLANT
COOLANT
(water anda
(water
and antifreeze)
ntifreeze)

Tsoil

BOREHOLE
between550
between
0 and
and150
150
mm
deep
deep
between 10
between
10and
and2020
cmcm
diameter
diameter
SINGLE U-PIPES
SINGLE
U-PIPESHEAT
HEAT
EXCHAN GER consisting
EXCHANGER
consistingof
of
HDPEtube
HDPE
tube

BOTTOM VIEW
BOTTOM
VI EW OF
OF
BOREHOLE EXCHANGER
EXCHANGER
WI TH A SINGLE U-PIPES
U-PIPES

Fig. 1. Schematic of the concept of borehole heat exchanger.

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V. Trillat-Berdal et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 27 (2007) 17501755

addition, the soil surface area mobilised by BHEs is very

low compared to horizontal ground heat exchangers. However, it should be pointed out that the cost of boreholes
represents the major drawback of the BHE system.
3. Thermal depletion
The term thermal depletion refers to the decrease in
the average soil temperature in the vicinity of the BHE (distance of less than 10 m). This discharge is generated by
extracting heat from the soil. In Europe, the utilization of
BHE increases, especially in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. For example, only in Switzerland, more than
30 000 ground coupling heat pumps (GCHP) using boreholes have been installed [7] and an Estimate of Ozgener
[8] indicates that there are over 140 000 GCHP in the
USA. Nevertheless, the system of geothermal heat pumps
is a relatively recent concept, and in spite of a number of
operational systems already high in some countries, it can
still be interesting to study the ground temperature
decrease in the long-term, especially for small systems (little
number of borehole) since they are most widespread, particularly for single-family houses.
Our project represents the ideal opportunity to study
this temperature decrease in more detail, both in theoretical
terms using various publications or simulations carried out
with TRNSYS software [9] and experimental terms
through the installation on a private residence.
Eugster and Rybach [10] conducted a series of measurements on a single, coaxial, 105 m deep BHE used to heat a
single family house located in Zurich (Switzerland). The
ground temperature at a distance of one metre from the
BHE cooled down in the rst two years of use. After ten
years of use, a new stable thermal equilibrium is established
between BHE and ground, at temperatures which are some
2 C lower than originally. However, it is important to note
that this study was conducted on a single BHE, resulting in
relatively high natural ground recovery due to the innite
volume of ground around the BHE. Thermal ground

recovery is particularly recommended in the case of high

concentrations of vertical exchangers on the same plot of
land [11]. The time to reach a complete thermal recovery
depends on how long the BHE has been operational. Principally, the recovery period equals nearly the operation
period [10].
We also studied the thermal discharge from the ground
with TRNSYS using type 557 modelling double-U BHE.
Two BHEs coupled with a heat pump were simulated with
the following assumptions : heating required 6 months per
year, inlet oor temperature and ow rate equal to 30 C
and 2000 kg/h respectively, heat pump operation 11 h per
day and heat extraction from two boreholes 90 m long at
a distance of 10 m. This simulation is relatively simplistic
since it denes an inlet oor temperature equal to 30 C
throughout the total heating season, but it gives an initial
indication of ground temperature variations. Fig. 2 shows
that the thermal depletion from the ground is relatively
rapid during the rst years of heat extraction, and then
decreases at an increasingly slower rate, but never achieves
a steady state, even after 20 years of operation. The ground
temperature dierence between the end of the rst heating
season and after 20 years of operation is of the order of
2 C. Therefore, these results conrm those obtained by
Eugster and Rybach [10].
We can therefore conclude that ground temperature
decrease is possible more or less in the long term, to a varied extent depending on soil characteristics, initial ground
temperature, moisture content, building loads, borehole
spacing, borehole ll material, etc. If this thermal depletion
of the soil is too extensive, it may result in a decrease in the
seasonal performance factor (SPF), which may render its
long-term operation uncertain and insucient longevity
of geothermal heat pump systems. Our study aims to remedy this problem by nding a balance between thermal
depletion and recovery in ground. This will be enabled by
thermal ground regeneration via solar collectors during
excess solar production periods and heat pump operation
in cooling mode when the building is being cooled.

Average soil temperature (C)

15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
0

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Time in years

Fig. 2. Variations in average soil temperature in the vicinity of a borehole heat exchanger.

V. Trillat-Berdal et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 27 (2007) 17501755

4. GEOSOL project overview

4.1. Description of process
The GEOSOL process (Fig. 3) is being testing under real
conditions in a 180 m2 single family house (Fig. 4) at St
Jean dArvey in Savoie (France) since the autumn of
2004. The main characteristics of the installation are as follows: two double-U borehole heat exchangers 90 m long;
12 m2 of rooftop thermal solar collectors, this surface area
is oversized with respect to the domestic hot water requirements alone so that the excess solar energy production is
routed to the oor heating or to the boreholes to favour
thermal ground recovery; a reversible heat pump with an
heating power of 15.5 kW (CIAT Aurea ILA Z60); a
500 l combined solar/electrical hot water tank; a low-temperature oor distribution system; the waterantifreeze
mixture (35% glycol solution, antifreeze to 18 C) circulates throughout the installation.
It is important to note that the circulation pumps only
operate sequentially. Therefore, their electricity consumption is minimized and, in any case, less than or equal to
solutions comprising circulation pumps coupled with
three-way valves, which generate higher maintenance costs.
A regulation system splits the operation of the installation into three main operating sequences described in the
section below.

1753

The measurement system set up (circuit temperatures,

hydraulic system owrates, power consumption of the
heat pump, . . .) enables precise tracking of energy ows
(energy extracted from ground (heating mode) or injected
in ground (cooling mode), solar energy available, energy
consumptions for domestic hot water production, for
heating and cooling mode). This data will be used to
validate the models developed with TRNSYS, and subsequently to optimise the design and operation of the
GEOSOL process.

Fig. 4. View of house used for the experiment.

Fig. 3. Principle diagram of GEOSOL process.

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V. Trillat-Berdal et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 27 (2007) 17501755

4.2. Description of operating sequences

During the rst possible operating sequence, the solar
collectors are involved in domestic hot water production
and, in addition, the geothermal heat pump meets the
buildings heating or cooling requirements. During the second possible sequence, the solar energy produced is
injected directly into the low-temperature heating oor
(direct solar oor heating principle) or, if the temperature
level is insucient, it may be used to supply the heat pump
cooling source to improve its COP. Finally, the third possible operating sequence consists of recharging the soil via
solar collectors or meeting the buildings cooling requirements by the reversible heat pump.

5. Theoretical approach
TRNSYS software is widely used by the international
scientic community in the eld of energy applications
and is based on interconnectable models known as
TYPEs. The TYPEs correspond to the modelling of
the components of the system studied (BHE system, thermal solar collectors, etc.) or specic functions (weather le
reading, etc.). The software includes a basic component
library, but it is also possible to create new components
or make changes to those that already exist.
The modelling will make it possible to conduct a theoretical study on the various alternative versions of the
GEOSOL process (see Table 1 below), in order to determine
the best process conguration(s) representing the optimum
technical and economical solution guaranteeing the commercial distribution of the system. This analysis will enable
a competitive positioning of the installations under study
with respect to conventional heating installations.
So as to obtain a progressive comparative approach, initially, a geothermal heat pump only, which will serve as a
reference for all the other alternative versions in the study,
will be envisaged. On the other hand, the direct solar oor
system only will also be taken into consideration so as
obtain, with the above system, two diametrically opposed
basic solutions, since one only uses energy from the
Table 1
Overview of the various alternative versions studied
Technical
solution

Heating

Domestic hot water

Heat pump
reference
solution
Intermediate
solution
GEOSOL
solution

Heat pump

Electrical hot water system

Heat pump

Solar
reference
solution

Direct solar oor

heating and energy
supply

Independent solar hot water

system and electrical supply
Oversized independent solar hot
water system and electrical
supply
Solar energy and electrical
supply

Heat pump

ground, while the other only uses energy supplied by thermal solar collectors.
In order to tend towards a solution where the combination of the two above systems is optimised, the following
two intermediate solutions will be envisaged:
Intermediate solution: consists of juxtaposing a geothermal heat pump for heating and an independent domestic
solar hot water system, with each component being
designed in a completely independent manner.
GEOSOL solution: consists of a combination of a geothermal heat pump and thermal solar collectors for heating and domestic hot water production. Compared to
the intermediate solution, the solar collectors circuit is
connected to the oor heating circuit (PSD) and the
BHE system in order to recharge the ground during
periods of excess solar production.
The purpose of the modelling will also be to study the
various operating sequences of the GEOSOL process in
detail. The purpose of simulating these sequences is to
determine whether their respective operating time is significant and to evaluate their inuence on the installations
annual energy and environmental balance. In each
sequence, sensitivity studies will be conducted to analyse
the inuence of the dierent parameters. Other sequences
liable to improve the installations performance will also
be envisaged and studied.
6. Conclusions
The combination of renewable energies such as thermal
solar energy and geothermal energy in a single system
should make it possible to meet heating, cooling and hot
water requirements, while guaranteeing a satisfactory level
of comfort and quality of use under all circumstances.
The project developed is indicative of the determination
of the industrial partners working together to design new
energy systems in line with current technical, economical
and environmental constraints, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and, more generally, have sustainable
operating system.
The end purpose of the GEOSOL project is to oer an
alternative technical solution which helps reduce operating
costs compared to those generated by conventional solutions using fossil energies. In addition, our solution initially
devised for private dwellings may be extended to collective
dwellings and the tertiary sector. For these two types of
application, thermal solar collectors could help reduce
the number of boreholes and the investment cost of the
installation.
Acknowledgements
This study was nancially supported by the APS
(Assemblee des Pays de Savoie) and by the ADEME
(Agence francaise de lEnvironnement et de la Matrise

V. Trillat-Berdal et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 27 (2007) 17501755

de lEnergie) and PUCA (Plan Urbanisme Construction et

Architecture) within the scope of proposals for Energy,
environmental and sanitary quality: prepare the Building
of 2010.
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