Parametric Study of an Earth–Air Heat Exchanger System for Heating and Cooling a Memorial

The use of an earth–air heat exchanger (EAHE) system to heat/cool the air is a passive way to meet the ventilation and thermal comfort of a building. The system uses geothermal energy by burying different combinations of pipe networks to certain depths below the building. Due to different geographical and climatic conditions, the influencing factors and applicability of EAHE systems need to be studied. In this paper, the influencing factors of the EAHE system are explored in depth by consistent theoretical analyses and scale model experiments. The experimental results show that the most reasonable pipe depth for this project is 4 m. The use of longer pipes, smaller diameters, and lower air velocities can effectively improve the thermal performance of the EAHE system.