A Review of Underground Soil and Night Sky as Passive Heat Sink: Design Configurations and Models

Rachana Vidhi
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Rachana Vidhi: Harvard Extension School, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 11, 1-24

Abstract: Energy consumption for heating and cooling constitute the majority of the energy use for building loads. Using passive cooling systems to reduce the energy consumption or to make the process more efficient can be very beneficial. Ground coupled heat exchangers and night sky radiative cooling systems have been used for centuries to achieve cooling and ice making. Ground coupled heat exchangers use the temperature difference between underground soil and ambient air or water for heat transfer between the soil and the fluid passing through buried pipes. Night sky radiative cooling takes advantage of the night sky as the coldest heat sink available for heat transfer with any surface. Use of these simple designs with the modern cooling/heating systems has the potential for a major impact on the heating and cooling needs. This review paper describes the various designs, configurations and applications of these systems as well as determining the parameters that impact their performance.

Keywords: earth air heat exchanger; ground coupled heat pump; night sky radiative cooling; infinite heat sink; passive cooling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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