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The Impact of the Use of Heat Pumps on Ground‐Water Temperatures
Author(s) -
Andrews Charles B.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
groundwater
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.84
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1745-6584
pISSN - 0017-467X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-6584.1978.tb03259.x
Subject(s) - aquifer , groundwater , heat pump , environmental science , water cooling , heat flow , water flow , hydrology (agriculture) , geology , meteorology , environmental engineering , geotechnical engineering , thermodynamics , heat exchanger , thermal , physics
The impact of the use of a heat pump for residential heating and cooling on ground‐water temperatures was simulated by means of a mathematical model which couples the equations for ground‐water flow with those for heat transport. A hypothetical case using data typical for southern Wisconsin was considered. Water was pumped from and recharged to a sandstone aquifer using a two‐well system. Water was withdrawn from a deep well and injected into a shallow well during the heating cycle and during the cooling cycle the system was operated in reverse. After ten years of operation, water temperatures in the aquifer had changed less than one degree centigrade at a distance of greater than 40 meters from the wells. For the case considered, the use of heat pumps for residential heating and cooling would not adversely lower ground‐water temperatures if use were restricted to sparsely populated areas. It is recommended that statutes which prohibit the injection of water directly into the subsurface be changed to allow the use of ground‐water heat pumps.