Ground source heat pumps (GSHP) are considered an efficient and renewable energy technology for buildings cooling and heating and the number of plants is continuously increasing worldwide. The paper aims at discussing the energy and environmental performance of a ground source heat pump for a commercial building based on experimental data, by means of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. The case study is about a GSHP designed for providing space heating and cooling in a commercial building in central Italy, where this technology is not widespread. After the renovation, a water-to-water heat pump (heating power of 19.3 kW) with three 120-m-long boreholes was installed. The energy and environmental advantages of this solution compared to conventional systems (mono-split air to air heat pumps for cooling and a methane boiler with fan-coils for heating) was investigated employing Life Cycle Assessment methodology, by means of SimaPro 7.3.2 software, and the alternative scenarios were compared through the Eco-Indicator 99 and Cumulative Energy Demand methods. Inventory data were provided by actual facilities or collected during the installation and the experimental campaign, whereas background data were obtained from Ecoinvent 2.0 life cycle inventory database. Results showed that the most significant impact categories for the investigated GSHP system are fossil fuels (48%), respiratory inorganics (27%), and Climate change (10%). The comparison with the standard solution highlights that the GSHP system has both lower eco-indicator (about 28%) and primary energy consumption (about 50%).
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) systems for commercial buildings: an Italian case study
MORETTI, ELISA;BARBANERA, MARCO;BURATTI, Cinzia
2015
Abstract
Ground source heat pumps (GSHP) are considered an efficient and renewable energy technology for buildings cooling and heating and the number of plants is continuously increasing worldwide. The paper aims at discussing the energy and environmental performance of a ground source heat pump for a commercial building based on experimental data, by means of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. The case study is about a GSHP designed for providing space heating and cooling in a commercial building in central Italy, where this technology is not widespread. After the renovation, a water-to-water heat pump (heating power of 19.3 kW) with three 120-m-long boreholes was installed. The energy and environmental advantages of this solution compared to conventional systems (mono-split air to air heat pumps for cooling and a methane boiler with fan-coils for heating) was investigated employing Life Cycle Assessment methodology, by means of SimaPro 7.3.2 software, and the alternative scenarios were compared through the Eco-Indicator 99 and Cumulative Energy Demand methods. Inventory data were provided by actual facilities or collected during the installation and the experimental campaign, whereas background data were obtained from Ecoinvent 2.0 life cycle inventory database. Results showed that the most significant impact categories for the investigated GSHP system are fossil fuels (48%), respiratory inorganics (27%), and Climate change (10%). The comparison with the standard solution highlights that the GSHP system has both lower eco-indicator (about 28%) and primary energy consumption (about 50%).I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
