Evaluation and Short-Term Test on Potential Utilization of Ground Source Heat Pump for Space Cooling in Southeast Asia

The demand for air conditioning in Southeast Asia has increased in recent years owing to rapid economic growth in the region. On the other hand, power generation still relies on fossil fuels. A ground source heat pump (GSHP) is an alternative to reducing the energy required for cooling and heating in many countries. The use of a GSHP in a tropical climate like Southeast Asia is mainly for cooling (i.e., heat rejection), and the temperature differences between soil background and atmosphere are low throughout the year. This paper addresses the potential use of GSHP in Southeast Asia based on short-term performance data. Four GSHP systems have been installed in Thailand and Vietnam. Data gathered from the short-term operations provides important insights on GSHP performance. A comparison with an air source heat pump (ASHP) indicates that a GSHP installed at the Bangkok, using two vertical ground heat exchangers (GHEs), achieves a maximum of 33% electricity reduction. Similarly, GSHPs installed at the Saraburi site using horizontal GHEs achieves a maximum of 18.5% and 40.3% less electricity during highest and lowest temperature seasons, respectively, compared with an ASHP. The results also show that parallel–series arrangement improves the thermal performance than those of series–parallel arrangements. Considering the wide temperature climate range of Hanoi, a GSHP can also be used for heating purposes during a short winter period. While the short-term results discussed in this paper suggest the potential use of GSHP in Southeast Asia, further long-term analysis, cost evaluations and system optimization are required.