Underground energy sources are becoming increasingly popular and now geothermal heat pumps are frequently used to heat/cool different types of buildings, including for solar passive houses. This article aims at giving a contribution in the development of the thermal modelling of borehole heat storage systems, investigating the possibility of a GSHP (ground source heat pump) implementation with vertical boreholes in a solar passive house. A case study analysing a residential solar passive house is presented as a suitable modelling tool for the estimation of the thermal behaviour of GSHP systems by combining the outcome from different modelling programs. The software DesignBuilder, Earth Energy Designer and a sizing method for borehole’s length are used for producing the numerical results. The results highlight that the length of the borehole, a major index in estimating the system’s cost, is directly influenced by fundamental variables like thermal conductivity of grout or soil. Additionally, correlations between these parameters and the coefficient of performance of GSHP were made. Furthermore, the length of borehole is very important as it is responsible for almost half of the total installation cost and triggered a difference in electricity consumption of the GSHP up to 14%.

The paper presents an absorption system with compact heat exchangers (micro-channels), working with ammonia water solution, driven by either solar or electrical energy. The construction of the solar panels includes heat pipes, and they are able to provide hot water with a maximum temperature of 130°C. The cooling capacity of the system ranges from 5 to 10 kW. The system is designed for comfort the technological air conditioning, providing inside air temperatures in the range of 10°C to 20°C. The project promotes ammonia as an ecological and natural refrigerant and aims to experimentally evaluate the thermal performances of each component of the system (condenser, evaporator, absorber and vapor generator) and of the entire system. The next step consists in a theoretical versus experimental comparison of data. The thermal performances refer to heat transfer coefficients in micro-channels on water ammonia side, as well as on the airside, and to the performance coefficient for various working conditions.

Having in sight the need for a strong reduction in CO2 emissions and the fluctuation of the price of fossil fuels, the ground source resources alongside with the ground source heat pumps are becoming more and more widespread for meeting the heating/cooling demand of several types of buildings. This article targets to develop the thermal modelling of borehole heat storage systems. Trying to emphasize some certain advantages of a GSHP (ground source heat pump) with vertical boreholes, a case study analysing a residential solar passive house is presented. The numerical results are produced using different modelling software like DesignBuilder, EED (Earth Energy Designer) and a sizing method for the length of the boreholes (ASHRAE method). The idea of sizing the length of boreholes (main design parameter and good index in estimating the system’s cost) using two different methods shows the reliability of this modelling tool. The study shows that borehole’s length of a GSHP system can trigger a difference in electricity consumption up to 22%. Moreover, this sensitivity analysis aims to prove that the design of the whole system can be done beforehand just using modeling tools, without performing tests in-situ.

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This article is intended to be a clear demonstration of the benefits of implementation of multiple renewable energy sources to cover the energy needs of a residential building. The simulated building in this article is the EFDeN Signature building and represented Romania at SolarDecathlon Dubai 2018 competition. By using a double U heat exchanger inside a 100 m borehole and connected to a 5kW heat pump, the total CO 2 emission reduction was calculatedto be 3786 kg/year, while the 62.1 m 2 solar photovoltaic panels produced 11522 kWh/year covering entirely the building energy demands.