engineers newsletter live

Course Outline

Central Geothermal Systems

Many people are familiar with geothermal heat pump systems, using small, “geothermal” heat
pumps, distributed throughout the building, that are coupled with a ground source heat
exchanger. These systems operate very efficiently since heat rejected to the ground loop in the
summer is stored and extracted in the winter. Today, project teams are also considering central
geothermal systems consisting of one or two chillers coupled with a closed, geothermal loop that
exchanges heat with the earth. Such systems offer high energy efficiency, with the additional
benefit of centralized maintenance, acoustic advantages, and flexibility. This Engineers Newsletter
Live! discusses benefits, challenges, design, and control of central geothermal systems.

By attending this event you will:

1. Gain an understanding of the design and operation of CGT systems and how it differs from
distributed systems
2. Learn the system premium efficiency and performance benefits for building owners
(centralized maintenance, piping, acoustics etc.)
3. Learn design, control and system considerations of a CGS
4. Learn how the system offers airside system flexibility

Program Outline:
1) Introduction
a) Central vs. distributed
2) System discussion
a) Central system configuration
b) Central system operation
c) Central system controls
d) Key design issues
3) Equipment performance requirements
a) Temps
b) Flexibility
4) Energy performance/TRACE

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 1

 engineers newsletter live
Presenter Biographies

Central Geothermal Systems

Lee Cline | senior principal systems engineer | Trane

Lee is an engineer in the Systems Engineering Department with over 29 years experience at Trane. His career
at Trane started as a factory service engineer for heavy refrigeration, helping to introduce the CVHE
centrifugal chiller with electronic controls to the industry. Following that Lee was a member of the team that
kicked off the microelectronic building automation and Integrated Comfort Systems controls – ICS - offering
at Trane. He continues to push new unit and system control and optimization concepts into the industry. As
a Systems Engineer Lee also has the opportunity to discuss HVAC system application and control with
owners, engineers and contractors on a daily basis.

Lee has a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Technological University. He is a
member of ASHRAE and a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Wisconsin.

Brian Fiegen, | global systems applications leader| Trane

Brian is the Manager of Systems Engineering (Applications Engineering, Systems Engineering, and C.D.S.).
Brian joined Trane in 1983, and has held a number of marketing and management positions throughout his
career. He has been involved with product development and promotion of air handling and distribution
products, systems, and controls throughout much of that time.

Brian is deeply involved in managing Trane’s position on key industry issues such as IAQ and sustainable
construction. Brian earned his BSME from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City, SD.

Mick Schwedler, | manager, applications engineering | Trane

Mick has been involved in the development, training, and support of mechanical systems for Trane since
1982. With expertise in system optimization and control (in which he holds patents), and in chilled-water
system design, Mick’s primary responsibility is to help designers properly apply Trane products and systems.
To do so, he provides one-on-one support, writes technical publications, and presents seminars.

A recipient of ASHRAE’s Distinguished Service Award, Mick is Chair of SSPC 90.1, which was responsible for
writing ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA 90.1-2007, a prerequisite for LEED. He also contributed to the ASHRAE
GreenGuide and is a former member of the LEED Energy and Atmospheric Technical Advisory Group (TAG).
Mick earned his mechanical engineering degree from Northwestern University and holds a master’s degree
from the University of Wisconsin Solar Energy Laboratory. He also is a registered professional engineer in the
State of Wisconsin.

Eric Sturm | C.D.S. marketing engineer | Trane

Eric Sturm joined Trane in 2006. He is responsible for driving development of the TRACE software program
including compliance with ASHRAE Standards 90.1 and 140. Eric’s primary responsibility is assisting
customers of Trane's HVAC system design and analysis applications including TRACE 700 and System
Analyzer. In addition Eric is a member of Trane's Advanced Engineering Services, providing building
simulations for various projects. Eric earned his BSME from University of Wisconsin-Platteville and is a
member of ASHRAE.

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 2

piping
Central Geothermal Chiller/Heater System
From borefield

To borefield PB

PH
M M M
PLc heating
VCC load
cond cond
On On
A B
Cool Heat
evap evap
M
PC PLe
VEC
M M
cooling
load

© 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

 Central Geothermal System
Design and Control

Continuing Education Credit

 This program is registered with
the AIA/CES and USGBC for
LEED® continuing professional
education. 1.5 CEs earned on
completion of this program will
be reported to CES Records for
AIA members.

2 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 3

 Copyrighted Materials
This presentation is protected by U.S. and international
copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, display, and
use of the presentation without written permission of
Trane is prohibited.
© 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand. All rights reserved.

3 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Central Geothermal Systems

Today’s Topics
 Overview of central geothermal systems
• Comparison to distributed systems
 Design and control
• Configuration
• Operation
• Controls
 Design considerations
 Equipment performance requirements
 Energy performance

4 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 4

 Today’s Presenters

Brian Fiegen Eric Sturm

Global Systems C.D.S. Marketing
Applications Leader Engineer

5 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Today’s Presenters

Lee Cline Mick Schwedler

Systems Applications
Engineer Engineering Manager

6 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 5

 Geothermal Systems

7 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Reasons to Select a Geothermal

System

 High system energy efficiency

 Low carbon emissions
 LEED® energy credits
 Attractive financial return
• Tax incentives

High Energy Efficiency

8 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 6

 What Makes Geothermal Systems Efficient?

 Earth temperatures
• Cool heat sink when cooling
• Warm heat source when heating
 Heat-pump based heating
 Heat-recovery system
• Share energy between heating and cooling zones
• Store heat from cooling season
• Extract heat in the heating season
 Efficient equipment
• High-efficiency heat pumps

9 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Distributed Heat Pump System

dedicated
outdoor air unit

ventilation
duct system

horizontal
heat pump

10 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 7

 Distributed Geothermal System
 WSHPs
 Dedicated outdoor air
units
 Optional fluid cooler heat
 Water pumps pumps
 Geo heat exchanger

vertical-
vertical-loop ground water pumps
heat exchanger (borefield)

11 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

piping
Distributed Geothermal System
air separator
water
distribution
loop

12 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 8

 Distributed Geothermal System
 Advantages
• Limited floor space requirements
• Easy to self-service
• Isolated impact of equipment failure
• Capacity can be added
• Simple piping design
 Disadvantages
• In-space service and maintenance
• Distributed service and maintenance
• Acoustics
• Complex dedicated outdoor air systems
• Mixing related energy efficiency loss (entropy)
• Limited air filtration options

13 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Central Geothermal System

14 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 9

 Central Geothermal System
 Heat recovery chillers
(chiller/heaters) provide
heating and cooling
• Hydronic four pipe
 Central air handlers
 VAV terminals
 Auxiliary boilers
 Water pumps

15 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

piping
Central Geothermal Chiller/Heater System

From borefield

To borefield PB

PH
M M M
PLc heating
VCC load
cond cond
On On
A B
Cool Heat
evap evap
M
PC PLe
VEC
M M
cooling
load

16 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 10

 Bi-directional Cascade Central Geothermal
System
 Disadvantages
• Requires MER space
• Requires a chiller technician to service the central plant
• Redundancy must be designed
• Capacity addition
 Advantages
• Service and maintenance occurs in an equipment room
• Service and maintenance is centralized
• Acoustics (equipment away from space)
• Air economizer integrates into air distribution system
• Efficient cascading of simultaneous energy streams
• Air filtration flexibility

17 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Geothermal Systems
 An HVAC system with compelling benefits including
energy efficiency
 Most geothermal systems utilize distributed near
space heat pumps for heating and cooling
 Central geothermal systems are an alternative to
traditional distributed geothermal systems
• Enables centralized service and maintenance
• Premium efficiency
• Improved acoustics and IAQ

18 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 11

 Central Geothermal System
Design and Control

System
configuration

Central Geothermal System

20 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 12

 Bidirectional Cascade
Operation & Control

Goal:
 CGS concept understanding
• Where does the water go?
 Operating modes
• Cooling only mode
• Heating only mode
• Simultaneous heating/
cooling modes

21 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Central Geothermal System

From borefield

To borefield PB

PH
M M M
PLc heating
VCC load
cond cond
On On
A B
Cool Heat
evap evap
M
PC PLe
VEC
M M
cooling
load

22 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 13

 Central Geothermal System
Fluid Flow
 Three Loops  Two “energy cascade” paths
• Borefield • Chiller Condenser to
• Condenser energy Heater Evaporator
transfer loop • Heater Evaporator to
• Evaporator energy Chiller Condenser
transfer loop • Result in more efficient
system operation

23 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Chilled Water to Building Loads

cond
On
A
Cool
Cooling system evap

PC
M
cooling
load

24 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 14

 Hot Water to Building Loads

Heating system
PH
M heating
load

cond cond
On On
A B
Cool Heat
evap evap

PC
M
cooling
load

25 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Borefield loop

From borefield

To borefield PB

PH
M heating
load

cond cond
On On
A B
Cool Heat
evap evap

PC
M
cooling
load

26 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 15

 Condenser Energy Transfer Loop

From borefield

To borefield PB

PH
M M heating
PLc load

cond cond
Condenser energy On On
transfer pump A B
Cool Heat
evap evap

PC
M
cooling
load

27 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Evaporator Energy Transfer Loop

From borefield

To borefield PB

PH
M heating
load

cond cond
On On
A B Evaporator energy
Cool Heat
transfer pump
evap evap

PC PLe
M M
cooling
load

28 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 16

 Two Energy Cascade Paths
Energy Cascade – evaporator to condenser

From borefield

To borefield PB Energy Cascade – condenser to evaporator

PH
M M
PLc heating
load
cond cond
On On
A B
Cool Heat
evap evap

PC PLe
M M
cooling
load

29 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Water flow
 Three Loops  Two “energy cascade” paths
• Borefield • Chiller Condenser to
• Condenser energy Heater Evaporator
transfer loop • Heater Evaporator to
• Evaporator energy Chiller Condenser
transfer loop • Result in more efficient
system operation

30 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 17

 Central Geothermal System
Design and Control

Operation and Control:

Cooling only

Cooling only mode operation

 Heat is rejected
From borefield
to the borefield
To borefield PB

M
PLc

cond
On
A
Cool
evap

PC
M
cooling
load

32 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 18

 Multiple Chillers in Cooling Mode

From borefield

To borefield PB

M M M
PLc

cond cond cond

On On On
A A A
Cool Cool Cool
evap evap evap

PC
M M M
cooling
load

33 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Bidirectional Cascade Control

Plant Control
Must respond to:
 Cooling load
 Heating load
 Systems limits
 Unit operating limits
 Pump energy consumption
 Pump VFDs

34 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 19

 SYS-APM009-EN

35 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Bidirectional Cascade Control

Cooling Only Mode

 Chilled water system is

From borefield
controlled to meet the
To borefield PB
building cooling load
 Condenser Energy Transfer
Loop pump (PLc) controlled
M M M to maintain design chiller
PLc condenser water flow rate
cond cond  Heat is rejected to the
A
On
Cool
B
On
Cool
borefield
evap evap  Borefield pump (PB)
PC
M
controlled to maintain
M M entering chiller condenser
cooling
load water temperature

36 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 20

 Bidirectional Cascade Control
Cooling Only Mode

From borefield

To borefield PB

1. Enable
Chilled
M M M Water Loop
PLc Operation

cond cond
A Off B Off

evap evap
M
PC
M M
cooling
load

37 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Bidirectional Cascade Control

Cooling Only Mode

From borefield
2. Cond
Energy
Trans Loop
To borefield PB
Pump PLc /
PLcVFD

DPT3 Modulates
based on
PCVFD M M M DPT3
PLc

cond cond
A Off B Off

evap evap
M
PC
M M
cooling
load

38 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 21

 Bidirectional Cascade Control
Cooling Only Mode

From borefield

To borefield PB

DPT3

PCVFD M M M
PLc
3. Chlr/Htr
Operating in
cond cond Cooling
On Mode
A Off B Off
Cool
Controls to
evap evap Leaving
M Chilled
PC Water
M M Setpoint
cooling
load

39 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Bidirectional Cascade Control

Cooling Only Mode
TS6
4. Borefield
Pump PB /
TS10
PBVFD
From borefield
Modulates
PBVFD
Based on
To borefield PB TS6 / TS10
Differential

DPT3

PCVFD M M M
PLc

cond cond
On
A Off B Off
Cool
evap evap
M
PC
M M
cooling
load

40 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 22

 Bidirectional Cascade Control
Cooling Only Mode
TS6
4. Borefield
Pump PB /
TS10
PBVFD
From borefield
Modulates
PBVFD
Based on
To borefield PB TS6 / TS10
Differential
And Chiller
DPT3
Requirements
PCVFD M M M
PLc

cond cond
On
A B Off
Cool
evap evap
M
PC
M M
cooling
load

41 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Central Geothermal System

Design and Control

Operation and Control:

Heating only

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 23

 Heating only mode operation

From borefield

To borefield PB

 Heat is extracted from the PH

borefield M heating
load

cond
On
B
Heat
evap

PLe
M

43 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Multiple Chillers in Heating Mode

From borefield

To borefield PB

PH
M M M heating
load

cond cond cond

On On On
B B B
Heat Heat Heat
evap evap evap

PLe
M M M

44 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 24

 Heating controls

45 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Bidirectional Cascade
Heating mode control
From borefield

To borefield PB

 Heating system controlled to

meet heating demand PH
M M M
 Evaporator Energy Transfer heating
load
Loop pump (PLe) controlled
cond cond
to maintain design heater On On
evaporator water flow rate A
Heat
B
Heat
evap evap
 Borefield pump (PB) M
controlled to maintain PLe

heater evaporator water M M

temperature

46 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 25

 Bidirectional Cascade
Heating mode control
From borefield

To borefield PB

1. Enable
Heating
Water Loop PH
Operation M M M
heating
load
cond cond
A Off B Off

evap evap
M
PLe
M M

47 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Bidirectional Cascade
Heating mode control
From borefield

To borefield PB

PH
M M M
heating
load
2. Evap
Energy
cond cond
Trans Loop A Off B Off
Pump PLe /
PLeVFD evap evap
PLeVFD
Modulates M
based on PLe
DPT4 M M DPT4

48 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 26

 Bidirectional Cascade
Heating mode control
From borefield

To borefield PB

PH
M M M
heating
load
cond cond
3. Unit On
Operating in A Off B Off
Heat
Heating
Mode
evap evap
PLeVFD
M
Controls to PLe
Leaving
M M DPT4
Condenser
Water
Setpoint

49 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Bidirectional Cascade
Heating mode control
4. Borefield TS10
Pump PB / From borefield
PBVFD
PBVFD
Modulates To borefield PB
based on
TS8
TS8 / TS10
Differential
PH
M M M
heating
load
cond cond
On
A Off B
Heat
evap evap
PLeVFD
M
PLe
M M DPT4

50 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 27

 Bidirectional Cascade
Heating mode control
4. Borefield TS10
Pump PB / From borefield
PBVFD
PBVFD
Modulates To borefield PB
based on
TS8
TS8 / TS10
Differential
PH
And Chiller
M M M
Requirements
heating
load
cond cond
On
A Off B
Heat
evap evap
PLeVFD
M
PLe
M M DPT4

51 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Simultaneous Cooling and Heating

Cooling dominant

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 28

 Cooling Dominant Mode
Energy Cascade Paths
Energy Cascade – evaporator to condenser

From borefield

To borefield PB
Energy Cascade – condenser to evaporator

PH
M M
PLc heating
load
cond cond
On On
A B
Cool Heat
evap evap

PC PLe
M M
cooling
load

53 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Why is energy cascade beneficial?

 Distributed systems and other central systems
• Mix this water – resulting in reduced efficiency
 Cascade
• The chiller’s condenser receives cool water –
allowing it to operate efficiently
• The heater’s evaporator receives warm water –
allowing it to operate efficiently

54 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 29

 What is the cascade worth?
Example
 One chiller operating in heat  Two units, cascading energy
recovery mode • Chiller compressor:
• Compressor: 81.4 kW 28.5 kW
• Heater compressor:
33.5 kW
• Total of two compressors:
62 kW
• 23.8% savings!

55 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Simultaneous Cooling and Heating

Heating dominant

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 30

 Heating Dominant Mode
Energy Cascade Paths
Energy Cascade – evaporator to condenser

From borefield

To borefield PB Energy Cascade

condenser to evaporator

PH
M M
PLc heating
load
cond cond
On On
A B
Cool Heat
evap evap

PC PLe
M M
cooling
load

57 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Simultaneous Heating/Cooling Controls

58 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 31

 Simultaneous Heating & Cooling
Heating or Cooling Dominant?
TS6

TS10
From borefield

To borefield PB TS8

PH
M M M
PLc heating
load
cond cond
On On
A B
Cool Heat
evap evap
M
PC PLe
M M
cooling
load

59 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Simultaneous Heating & Cooling

Cooling Dominant

 More BTUs are rejected to the Condenser Energy Transfer

loop from the cooling unit(s)…
than are extracted from the Evaporator Energy Transfer loop
by the heating unit(s)
 The system is BTU excess
 The Condenser Energy Transfer loop is warmer than the
borefield supply water temperature

60 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 32

 Simultaneous Heating & Cooling
Cooling Dominant
TS6

From borefield

To borefield PB

PH
M M M
PLc heating
load
cond cond
On On
A B
Cool Heat
evap evap
M
PC PLe
M M
cooling
load

61 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Simultaneous Heating & Cooling

Heating Dominant

 More BTUs are extracted from the Evaporator Energy Transfer

loop by the heating unit(s)…
than are rejected to the Condenser Energy Transfer loop by the
cooling unit(s)

 The system is BTU deficit

 The Evaporator Energy Transfer loop is cooler than the
borefield supply water temperature

62 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 33

 Simultaneous Heating & Cooling
Heating Dominant

TS10
From borefield

To borefield PB TS8

PH
M M M
PLc heating
load
cond cond
On On
A B
Cool Heat
evap evap
M
PC PLe
M M
cooling
load

63 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Simultaneous Heating & Cooling

Cooling Dominant
TS6

TS10
From borefield

To borefield PB

To / From
To / From Chiller Heater
PH
Cooling Dominant M M M
heating
 The system
PLc
is BTU excess load

 The Condenser Energy

cond Transfer loop is warmer than
cond
the borefield A
On
Cool
B
On
Heat

Transition to Heating evap

Dominant evap
M
 The system
PC becomes BTU deficit PLe
M M
 The Condenser
cooling
load
Energy Transfer loop supply
temperature drops below the borefield temperature.

64 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 34

 Simultaneous Heating & Cooling
Heating Dominant

TS10
From borefield

To borefield PB TS8
To / From
To / From Chiller Heater
PH
Heating Dominant M M M
heating
 The system
PLc
is BTU deficit load

 The Evaporator Energy

cond Transfer loop is cooler than
cond
the borefield. A
On
Cool
B
On
Heat
Transition to Cooling evap
Dominant evap
M
 The system
PC becomes BTU excess PLe
M M
 The Evaporator Energy Transfer loop supply
cooling
load
temperature rises above the borefield temperature.

65 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Central Geothermal System

Design and Control

Key design issues

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 35

 Key Design Issues
 Optimizing life cycle costs
• Borefield sizing
 Supplemental heating
 Auxiliary heat rejection
• Load shedding economizer
 Freeze protection

67 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

optimizing life cycle costs

Borefield Sizing

 Peak building demand

 Cumulative building demand
 Optimization
• Reduce peak demand
• Balance annual heating and cooling loads
• Consider a hybrid system design

68 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 36

 Seasonal Heating Dominate Load Profile
Building Load Profile
600000

Cooling
Heating
Energy

0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total
Month

69 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

System Options
Supplemental Heating
 Boiler downstream of condenser
 Use boiler setpoint several degrees lower than chiller
setpoint
• Avoids boiler “stealing” the load

PH
M M
aux
M heat heating
load

cond cond
supplemental
on on heating boiler
cool heat
evap evap

70 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 37

 Total vs. monthly?

Seasonal Cooling Dominate Load Profile

Building Load Profile
500000

Cooling
Heating
Energy

0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total
Month

71 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

System Options
Auxiliary Energy Rejection
 Use dry cooler or
evaporative fluid cooler
• Keeps fluid loop clean
 Pump options
• Use energy transfer
loop pump
 Pump must be sized
for tower pressure
drop
• Add separate pump –
sidestream
 Simpler, but
additional pump

72 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 38

 Building Load Profile Imbalance

 A heating dominate building

• Auxiliary heating system (e.g. modular boiler)
• Load shedding economizer
 A cooling dominate building
• Auxiliary energy rejection (e.g. fluid cooler)
• Add building heating load like domestic hot water
 Optimize the building life cycle cost
• Reducing borefield size
• Increasing borefield utilization for energy efficiency

73 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Freeze Protection
 Two considerations
• Low evaporator temperature protection
• Air handler coil freezing
 What’s unique about the bi-directional geothermal
system?
• All systems and loops are interconnected
• A decision to use anti-freeze impacts all system
elements

74 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 39

 Freeze Avoidance Strategies
 Low evaporator temperature protection
• Careful attention to borefield design low temperature
limit
• Limit the leaving evaporator temperature
• Use supplemental heat (modular boiler) when
evaporator temperature drops to the freezing threshold
 Air handler coil freeze protection
• Freezestat with full coil face coverage
• Mixed air blender
• Pumped coils

75 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Pumped Coil

76 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 40

 Freeze Avoidance Strategies
 Pump and piping placement
• Place pumps indoors
• Bury all external piping
below frost line

77 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Freeze Avoidance Strategies

 Anti-freeze
• Desirable to avoid if possible
– Cost and efficiency implications throughout the
system
– Glycol impact is worse for cooling operation than
heating due to viscosity change
– Shell and tube heat exchangers enable a lower
evaporator temperature limit than plate and frame
heat exchangers
• If required, minimize its concentration.

78 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 41

 Considerations summary
 Optimize borefield value
• Hybrid design
• Balance the borefield load
 Avoid freezing
• Limit borefield design temperatures by using auxillary
heating
• Use mechanical methods where possible
• Minimize anti-freeze use

79 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Central Geothermal System

Design and Control

Equipment performance
requirements

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 42

 Bidirectional Cascade
Desired Equipment Capabilities

 Efficiency
 Operating Range
• Temperatures
• Flow rates
 Control
• Leaving water temperature stability
• Ability to switch modes

81 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Unit Efficiency
 Can be up to 18% more efficient than
ASHRAE 90.1-2007 requirements
 Dependent on selection conditions
 Make sure unit can unload efficiently
while simultaneously making cold chilled
water and hot condenser water
• Centrifugal compressors may surge
• Positive displacement compressors often a
good fit

82 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 43

 ASHRAE Guidance
Temperatures
“For typical buildings,
chillers normally
provide hot water for
space heating at
105°F to 110°F”

source: 2008 ASHRAE Handbook –

HVAC Systems and Equipment, p8.20

83 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Example: Positive Affects of

Lower Hot Water Temperature
Hot Water 140°F 130°F Positive
Temperature Affect
Cooling 131.6 149.1 + 13.3%
Capacity (tons)
Heating 2255 2422 + 7.4%
Capacity (MBh)
Power (kW) 198.2 185.3 - 6.5%
(that’s good!)
Heating 3.3 3.8 + 15.1%
Efficiency
(COP)

84 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 44

 Operating Range
Temperatures
 Antifreeze (such as glycol)
• Avoid if possible
• Minimize amount (10% is better than 25 or 30%)
 Temperatures using water
• 38°F chilled water
• 140°F hot water
 Using 130°F water
– Increases unit capacity
– Increases unit efficiency (15% better)
 130°F complements condensing boiler requirements
 Proper question,
“What hot water temperature do we need?

85 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Operating Range
Flows
Evaporator flow Condenser flow
 ASHRAE GreenGuide:  ASHRAE GreenGuide
• 1.2 to 2.0 gpm/ton • 1.6 to 2.5 gpm/ton
 12 - 20°F ΔT  12 - 18°F ΔT
 If Variable Primary Flow
• Ensure adequate
turndown
 Design/Minimum > 2
• 3-pass evaporator may
be advantageous

86 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 45

 Desirable Unit Controls
 Operate either in cooling or heating mode
 Setpoint stability
• Unloading compressors maintain setpoints
• Make 38°F water with no anti-freeze
 Switch modes without turning compressor off
 Ability to respond to variable flow if applied in VPF
system
• 30% flow rate change per minute

87 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Central Geothermal System

Design and Control

TRACE 700™
analysis

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 46

 What’s New in TRACE 700 v6.2.5

 Geothermal loop calculation methodologies

 Control algorithms for energy transfer pumps
 Default geothermal chiller-heater equipment
 Two new output reports
• Geothermal Plant Peak Summary
• Geothermal Energy Transfer Summary

89 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

TRACE 700 Output

Geothermal Peak Load Summary

90 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 47

 TRACE 700 Output
Geothermal Energy Transfer Summary

91 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Study Assumptions
 Three-story office building
• Atlanta, GA
• Philadelphia, PA
• St. Louis, MO
 60,000 Square Feet
 Complies with
ASHRAE 90.1-2007, 62.1-2007

92 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 48

 System Comparisons
 90.1-2007 Appendix G Baseline
• VAV-reheat, DX cooling, Fossil Fuel heating
• No economizer required (all locations)
 Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP)
• Dedicated OA to heat pump inlet, room neutral
conditions
• 90.1-2007 minimally compliant equipment
 Optimized GSHP
• Dedicated OA to space, 55 dew point
• Total energy wheel

93 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Central Geothermal System Comparison

 Central Geothermal System (CGS)
• VAV-reheat as described in broadcast
• Primary-secondary flow
 Optimized CGS
• Increased space setpoint (+1°F)
• Low temperature air VAV (with reset)
• Ventilation reset
• Enthalpy economizer
• Variable primary flow
• Reduced water flow rates

94 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 49

 overall building energy cost,

96
95
% of base
overall building energy cost,

100

50
60
70
80
90
% of base

50
60
70
80
90
100

Baseline building

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand

Basic GSHP

Optimized GSHP baseline building

© 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

Atlanta
Philadelphia

Basic CGS

All locations
System Comparison
Basic GSHP
9%

Optimized CGS

Baseline building
Optimized GSHP
System Comparison

Basic GSHP
19%

Optimized GSHP
Basic CGS
Basic CGS
4%

Philadelphia
Optimized CGS

Optimized CGS
Baseline building
26%

Basic GSHP

Optimized GSHP

St. Louis
Basic CGS

Optimized CGS

50
 summary
Central Geothermal Systems
 Advantages
• Centralize service and maintenance is centralized
• Superior acoustic options
• Airside flexibility
 Operation and control
• Efficient cascading of simultaneous energy streams
• Efficiently provides both chilled and hot water temperature
control
 Equipment with wide operating range is available
 Analysis results show significant savings

97 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

references for this broadcast

Where to Learn More

www.trane.com/

98 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 51

 watch past broadcasts
ENL Archives
 Insightful topics on HVAC
system design:
• Chilled-water plants
• Air distribution
• Refrigerant-to-air systems
• Control strategies
• Industry standards and
LEED
• Energy and the environment
• Acoustics
• Ventilation
• Dehumidification

www.trane.com/ENL

99 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

2010 ENL Broadcasts

October
ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2010

100 © 2010 Trane, a business of Ingersoll-Rand

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 52

 Central Geothermal System
Design and Control

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 53

 engineers newsletter live

Bibliography

Central Geothermal
Industry Standards and Handbooks
System Design and available to purchase from < www.ashrae.org/bookstore > or
Control < www.amca.org/store >

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning

Engineers. 2008. ASHRAE Handbook—HVAC Systems and
Equipment, p8.20, Atlanta, GA: ASHRAE.

Trane Publications
available to purchase from <www.trane.com/bookstore>

Cline, Lee. Central Geothermal Systems application manual. SYS-APM009-EN.

April 2010.

Analysis Software
TRACE 700™ building energy and economic analysis software
Available at < www.trane.com/TRACE >

© Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand 54