Boreholes

The loss of heat through the periphery of the storage volume is controlled by the outer heat extraction boreholes, but what about the effects at the ends of the storage volume, especially for small systems that use shallow boreholes? The answer is to dish the collection array at both ends as shown in the diagram below. Heat escaping from the hot central tubes will tend to migrate to the longer and cooler outer tubes. At the bottom the dishing is achieved by drilling shallower central boreholes. At the top the same objective is achieved by using insulation instead of grouting at the top.

temperature of the surrounding ground also increases, maintaining a relatively stable heat flow as compared to the simple U-tube and achieving a significantly higher exit temperature and hence better efficiency. Grouting The ground around the borehole has a limited heat capacity so achieving higher extraction efficiency does not automatically mean that more heat will be extracted. The extraction is a two step process. First the heat flows into the grout-filled borehole and then into the heat extraction tube. The grouting material should have as high a heat capacity as possible and should have good thermal conductivity. Short term temperature variations caused by diurnal energy demands can be minimized by making the grout storage capacity as high as possible. One way of achieving that is to use as large a borehole diameter as possible. At the present time the practical limit appears to be about 22 cm, although in the future bigger boreholes will probably be more affordable that at present. However, even the 22 cm boreholes will contain 2.15 times as much grout as the normal 15 cm holes used for ground source heat pumps, compensating for the fact that there are twice as many extraction tubes. Reserves At the end of a normal winter the Minimalist system still has about a 25% reserve capacity represented by the central area that is close to the ambient temperature at that time. The heat pumps can draw down this temperature to provide more heat, but at the expense of a lower COP. In such a case the designer has a choice of relying on grid power or providing enough capacity in the CHP generator so that the only penalty is the use of more fuel. Comparative Performance Compared to an existing seasonal heat storage system like the Drake Landing system in Okotoks, Alberta (which stores solar heat) the Minimalist system uses slightly a longer heat extraction tube length per home after making an allowance for its relatively low storage loss. One reason is that the Minimalist system provides all of the home heat requirements without requiring backup from a natural gas heater. The use of heat pumps provides much greater flexibility in dealing with a wide range of temperatures. A second reason is that the Drake Landing homes have extra insulation, which is not needed in a Minimalist system. Although the Drake Landing system operates at a much higher temperature (up to 80 degrees) the heat delivery capacities are comparable because they both operate over similar winter temperature differentials. Because the DL system is so much hotter throughout the year it loses a lot of heat whereas the symmetrical and low

In most ground heat exchangers, like those used for ground source heat pump systems, a simple plastic Utube is used as shown in cross section in the left of the diagram above. Since the fluid temperature will be hotter in one side vs. the other, particularly near the top of the borehole, there is a thermal short circuit that reduces the heat transfer efficiency. However, the performance can be improved, especially in the Minimalist system, by employing the 4-tube design shown in the center. For extracting heat the fluid flows down through the central tube and then back up through the three peripheral tubes. Because all of the tubes have the same diameter the flow rate through the central tube is three times higher than that through the other tubes. As a consequence nearly all of the heat gain occurs in the outer tubes, both because there are three of them and because their fluid dwell time is three times longer. Since these tubes are all at the same temperature there is no heat loss from one to the others. When heat is being injected into the ground the direction of flow is reversed, so the hot fluid flows through the outer tubes first. This configuration has another important advantage in that it creates a positive thermal gradient running from the bottom to the top. As a consequence as the fluid flows up through the tube and gains temperature the

temperature of the Minimalist system almost eliminates storage heat loss. The direct consequence is that the heat capacity of the store and the amount of heat exchange tubing can be reduced. Moreover, the Minimalist system can function as a heat sink for air conditioning in the summer, which is precluded by the 80 degree storage temperature of the DL system. The result is a large reduction in the summer electric power load plus a reduction in the need to inject as much heat extracted from the atmosphere. Moreover, the expensive heat storage tanks and solar collectors are eliminated , with the latter being replaced by the comparatively inexpensive (and energy efficient) air heat exchanger. On the other hand, the DL system does not require heat pumps (other than for summer air conditioning). Capacity If the ground material is rock, such as granite, the total mass of rock within a store that is 200m deep is 1.7 million tonnes, and for an average temperature differential of 12 degrees the total energy storage capacity is 16,100 gigajoules, or 4,480,000 kWh. So long as the boreholes are reasonably close together and are not constricted by poor heat exchanger efficiency the system capacity is determined by such a macro calculation without the need to do detailed heat flow calculations like those normally performed for ground source heat pumps. The depth of the boreholes can be scaled to provide the required energy storage capacity. Gear Change Bear in mind that the Minimalist system incorporates a gear change that handles extreme loads both in the winter and the summer. In the winter, on an exceptionally cold night heat can be drawn from the four central holes, which provide both a higher temperature and a much larger ground heat exchange capacity. In the summer, on an exceptionally hot day the heat can be rejected into the four outermost boreholes, again increasing the exchange capacity and optimizing the temperature. CHP Integration If CHP plants are integrated into the system it is not necessary to have a CHP plant for each minimalist system. One CHP plant might serve a number of Minimalist systems because the electric power demand is low in comparison with the amount of thermal energy delivered (i.e. the COP is high). However, there is a need to consider how the heat from the CHP plant would be integrated. The waste heat temperature is comparatively high so it could eliminate the need for heat pumps in some applications, such as for supplying hot water throughout the year, for winter heating in large buildings that employ air ducts for heat distribution, for retrofits in older buildings that use

blowers for heating, etc. In the summer, apart from the water heating application it should be used for heating the central core of the heat store, probably utilizing separate injection boreholes. Useful Data The following graphs provide useful data for winter and summer energy demand, energy prices, and energy sources. They all refer to electric power rather than energy in thermal forms, however. The top graph illustrates summer variations. The others are for the winter. Ron Tolmie