Global warming's impact on the performance of GSHP

Since heating and cooling systems of buildings consume 30-50% of the global energy consumption, increased efficiency of such systems means a considerable reduction in energy consumption. Ground source heat pumps (GSHP) are likely to play a central role in achieving this goal due to their high energy efficient performance. The efficiency of GSHP depends on the ground temperature, heating and cooling demands, and the distribution of heating and cooling over the year. However, all of these are affected by the ongoing climatic change. Consequently, global warming has direct effects on the GSHP performance. Within the framework of current study, heating and cooling demands of a reference building were calculated for different global warming scenarios in different climates i.e. cold, mild and hot climate. The prime energy required to drive the GSHP system is compared for each scenario and two configurations of ground heat exchangers. Current study shows that the ongoing climatic change has significant impact on GSHP systems. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.