Innovative High Efficiency Closed Loop Ground Coupled Heat Exchanger (GCHE)

The current paper describes an innovative high efficiency closed loop ground coupled heat exchanger (GCHE), which is already protected by a Greek patent, while protection at European level is pending.

Closed loop GCHEs are used in shallow geothermal energy systems, which are a relatively widespread renewable energy sources (RES) technology. The exploitation of shallow geothermal energy is achieved through energy systems which provide heating/cooling and/or domestic hot water in several types of buildings (houses, offices, hotel complexes, schools, shopping centers, etc.) and in other applications (such as swimming pools, greenhouses, ice melting, etc.). It is noteworthy that the above mentioned energy systems are widely known as ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) or simply shallow geothermal energy systems. It should be emphasized that GCHEs are one of the main parts of a closed loop GSHP system. The installation of closed loop GCHEs is achieved, mainly, through two geometrical patterns: horizontal and vertical.

The innovative high efficiency closed loop GCHE is going to be used for the exploitation of the internal thermal energy (U) of the medium (ground or aquatic environment) with which it comes into contact. In particular, this innovative high efficiency closed loop GCHEconsists of plastic piping which has been mounted to a specific metallic mechanism. Furthermore, the innovative high efficiency closed loop GCHEhas several advantages in relation to a conventional closed loop GCHE, such as: a) higher degree of exploitation of the internal thermal energy (U) of the medium, b) decrease of the manufacturing and installation costs, c) decrease of the length (m) of the borehole drilling in vertical systems and d) decrease of the required application area (m²) in horizontal systems.

In conclusion it is expected that the use, production and commercialization of the innovative high efficiency closed loop GCHEsmay facilitate further diffusion of GSHPs contributing, among others, to the reduction of CO₂ and other gas emissions, to environmental protection, to energy savings and to the creation of new jobs —a glimmer of hope against the economic recession of Greece.