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Research Article

Thermal simulation of the ground source heat pump used for energy needs of a bioclimatic house in Tlemcen City (western ALGERIA)

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Pages 5425-5439 | Received 06 Jun 2019, Accepted 01 Jul 2019, Published online: 26 Sep 2019
 

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a validation by simulation of feasibility analysis for the installation of the ground source heat pump systems that have been proposed the modeling study for use in Algeria. We design and calculate the energy needs of an example building with the COMSOL Multiphysics software and Geo TSOL Basic. The study addresses heating needs for the climate conditions of western Algeria, in one of North Africa’s biggest cities. The houses energy needs are assumed to be covered by a ground source heat pump (GSHP) system coupled with solar panels. The GSHP consists of a vertical ground heat exchanger and water-to-water heat pumps and is analyzed using an in-house developed and validated code. Energy consumption was calculated and validated by a simulation of the building’s properties. Results show that installation of the ground source heat pump system substantially reduces the building’s energy consumption. Finally, an economic analysis of the proposed system for construction practices in Algeria was carried out. The main novelty of this article, being that the study was conducted to seek a solution to reduce the energy bill of a house located in a city of a country Natural Gas Producer. Algeria is one of the 10 largest producers of natural gas in the world. More than 80% of the energy bill of a house located in Algeria, is due to the consumption of gas (Heating, Hot Water and Cooking), the electricity is mainly used in summer for air conditioning. The use of renewable energy will cost more than the use of natural gas. It is for this main cause that renewable energies are struggling to develop in Algeria, the cost of gas is very low. The economic analysis shows that in countries like Algeria, where the cost of conventional energy is heavily subsidized, solar thermal is not competitive with natural gas. It is only by coupling the GSHP with solar collectors that solar can take off and attract households. As a result, the only renewable way to compete with natural gas is the combination of GSHP with solar collectors. The only solution adopted to reduce the energy bill in a house located in Algeria, is the solution presented in this article. This is the first technical–economic study of how a GSHP could contribute to the energy needs of buildings in the city of Tlemcen ALGERIA.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mohammed El Amine Boukli Hacene

Mohammed El Amine Boukli Hacene currently works at the Department of Physics, University of Sidi-Bel-Abbes. Amine does research in Energy Physics, Climate change, Building Energy Efficiency, Sustainability and Energy Policy. Their current project is 'Means of promoting Sustainable Development in Algeria: Study of the reduction of energy consumption of a state institution” Faculty of Exact Sciences - University Sidi Bel Abbes'

Rachid Laroui

Rachid Laroui Mohammed El Amine Boukli Hacene currently studied at the Department of Physics, University of Sidi-Bel-Abbes. Rachid prepare a PhD thesis in Energy Physics.

Habib Rozale

Habib Rozale currently works at the Department of Physics, University of Sidi-Bel-Abbes. Habib  does research in Energy Physics, Condensed Matters and semi conductors.

Abbes Chahed

Abbes Chahed currently works at the Department of Physics, University of Sidi-Bel-Abbes. Abbes  does research in Energy Physics, Condensed Matters and semi conductors.

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