Parametric Study of to Design an Earth to Air Heat Exchanger with Experimental Validation

Geothermal energy uses an air ground exchanger to cool buildings with minimum of energy. The outlet air coming from this exchanger can be directly used for space cooling if its temperature is low enough. In this study we try to evaluate the profile of ground temperature to decide of the depth to bury the exchanger. Through modeling and experimentation, we try to evaluate the performance of a horizontal pipe used for cooling, for this finite differential method which consists on dividing the length of the exchanger on multiple equal segments and by the knowledge of initial and boundary conditions the profile of the air temperature is that carry out. The authors conclude that many parameters influence the performance of earth to air exchanger such as the nature of the ground, the ground depth diameter of the duct and the throughput flow.