Ground source heat pumps in densely populated areas - a techno-economic study
This project aims to study the techno-economic performance of ground source heat pumps in densely populated areas.
Background
Ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) provide space heating by extracting heat from the underground; this makes them one of the most efficient and environmental friendly technology for space heating. Nowadays in Sweden around 20% of the single family houses use them.
However, when several systems are close to each other, like in several Swedish neighbourhoods, the high heat extraction from the ground can lead to very low underground temperature, decreasing the efficiency of the systems.
To correctly estimate the performance of these systems it is necessary to forecast the underground temperature evolution. Several models are available for this scope.
Goal
The student will use and compare the models developed in our research group to simulate several densely populated areas, forecast the underground temperature evolution in these areas and the consequent ground source heat pump performances.
Preliminary plan
Prerequisites
The student is expected to have knowledge of heat transfer and thermodynamics, and basic experience with programming (for example Matlab, Python).
Location and duration of the project
The project is to be performed at the Department of Energy Technology at KTH Stockholm Campus. The project should start around January/February 2022 (VT-2022) and is expected not to exceed 6 months. Specific starting date to be discussed.
Supervision and contact
Supervisor
Examiner
