Performance Evaluation and Comparison Between Conventional U-Tube and New Kelix Tube-in-Tube Ground Heat Exchangers and Between Regular Grout and Supergrout

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The geothermal heat pump, also known as the ground source heat pump (GSHP), is a highly efficient renewable energy technology that is gaining wide acceptance for both residential and commercial buildings. GSHPs are used for space heating and cooling, as well as water heating. The technology relies on the fact that the Earth (beneath the surface) remains at a relatively constant temperature throughout the year, warmer than the air above it during the winter and cooler in the summer. The GSHP takes advantage of this by transferring heat stored in the Earth or in ground water into a building during the winter, and transferring it out of the building and back into the ground during the summer. Using the Earth as a heat source/sink, a series of pipes, commonly called a "loop," is buried in the ground near the building to be conditioned. It usually circulates an antifreeze solution fluid that absorbs heat from, or relinquishes heat to, the surrounding soil, depending on whether the fluid is colder or warmer than the soil. If a ground heat exchanger (GHE) can better transfer heat between the heat pump and the ground, the overall performance of the GSHP would be higher.