Economic Analysis of Various Residential Geothermal Heat Pump System Capacities

Geothermal heat pumps are known as the most efficient and environment-friendly heating and cooling system, and are also gaining acceptance in buildings. Building energy simulation program, EnergyPlus is used to calculate the energy consumption of residential buildings. This simulated energy consumption is essential for accurate economic analysis. Residential buildings with geothermal heat pumps have complex energy price structure. Electricity rates for residential buildings increase rapidly as the monthly use increases. This complex energy price structure makes the economic analysis complicated. The purpose of this study is to conduct economic comparison of residential geothermal heat pumps and provide a feasible approach in finding their economically feasible capacity.