Utilizing Wastewater Tunnels as Thermal Reservoirs for Heat Pumps in Smart Cities

Fredrik Skaug Fadnes and Mohsen Assadi ()
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Fredrik Skaug Fadnes: Department of Energy and Petroleum, University of Stavanger, 4021 Stavanger, Norway
Mohsen Assadi: Department of Energy and Petroleum, University of Stavanger, 4021 Stavanger, Norway

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 19, 1-35

Abstract: The performance of heat pump systems for heating and cooling heavily relies on the thermal conditions of their reservoirs. This study introduces a novel thermal reservoir, detailing a 2017 project where the Municipality of Stavanger installed a heat exchanger system on the wall of a main wastewater tunnel beneath the city center. It provides a comprehensive account of the system’s design, installation, and performance, and presents an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model that predicts heat pump capacity, electricity consumption, and outlet temperature across seasonal variations in wastewater temperatures. By integrating domain knowledge with the ANN, this study demonstrates the model’s capability to detect anomalies in heat pump operations effectively. The network also confirms the consistent performance of the heat exchangers from 2020 to 2024, indicating minimal fouling impacts. This study establishes wastewater heat exchangers as a safe, effective, and virtually maintenance-free solution for heat extraction and rejection.

Keywords: wastewater heat pump; ANN; monitoring and fault detection; fouling; COP; SPF (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: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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