DESIGN OF

EARTH AIR TUNNELS

TO CONSERVE ENERGY

Presented by:

APURVA ANAND
10-MARC-01
M.ARCH.(BUILDING SERVICES)

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
DEFINITION
Geothermal Energy is heat
(thermal) derived from the earth
(geo).
It is the thermal energy from
the earth's core, which is stored
in the rock in the earth's crust.
APPLICATIONS
Industrial &
Domestic
heating
HVAC
Direct

Hot water spring

Geothermal Power Plant

Greenhouses
Indirec
t

Electricity
generation

ADVANTAGES

Renewable

Environment friendly

LIMITATIONS:

Sustainable

Cost effective

Not every area has

accessible geothermal
sources.

Green house gases

emission.

Localized Depletion

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY SYSTEMS

Systems that utilizes the thermal energy
stored in earth.
PRINCIPLE

Earth behaves as a huge collectorcum-storage .

Beyond
4m
depth
earth
temperature
remains
constant
(equal to mean air temperature at
surface), since it absorbs only 50%
of all solar energy
WAYS OF TAPPING
Geothermal
energy

direct
coupling

earth
envelope

indirect
coupling

Earth air
tunnel

Geothermal
exchange
systems
Geothermal Gradient

DIRECT COUPLING- EARTH ENVELOPES

DEFINITION

Architectural practice of
using earth against building
walls.

Passive solar & sustainable

architecture.
Earth berming

TYPOLOGY

Earth Berming

In-hill construction

Underground/fully recessed construction

Earth sheltering

ADVANTAGES

LIMITATIONS

Taking advantage of the earth as a

thermal mass.

Water seepage

Internal condensation

Offering extra protection from the

natural elements

Bad acoustics

Energy savings

Poor indoor air quality.

Efficient use of land in urban settings

Shelters have low maintenance

requirements

Requires heavier
construction than
conventional building
techniques

In-hill construction

underground/fully recessed

INDIRECT COUPLING GEOTHERMAL

EXCHANGE SYSTEMS

OVERVIEW
An active technique that applies geothermal energy in required purposes using ground source
exchange. It is the refrigerant that circulates throughout the loop.

COMPONENTS
Ground Loop
system

Heat Transfer fluid

WORKING
Circulation of fluid through
pipes buried in ground
Exchange of heat eitherway ( from fluid to earth or
vice-versa)
Electrically driven
concentrates this energy
& release it at desired
temperature
Distribution through
various distribution
systems

Heat Pump

Air distribution
system

INDIRECT COUPLING EARTH

AIR TUNNEL

OVERVIEW

A passive technique consisting of a tunnel for

passage of calculated amount of air for the
purpose of HVAC of a space using natural
heat of the earth, 4 m below the earth surface.

Also known as ground- coupled heat

exchanger or earth- tube heat exchanger.

Used for either partial or full cooling and/or

heating of facility ventilation air.

Earth Air
Tunnel

Open
loop
System
Closed
Loop
System

PRINCIPLE

Uses constant air

temperature below 4
m of earth surface.

Air blown through long

tubes buried in earth.

Heat Dissipated
through surface
contact.

Conditioned air
supplied to space

Combination
system

Space to be
conditioned
Space to be
conditioned
Space to be conditioned

Open System
Closed
Combination System
System

SurfaceSurface
Surface

Earth Air Tunnel

Earth Air Tunnel

concrete/plastic
coated metal/
Inline
plastic coated
with antimicrobial
Inle
fan
Filter
layer tubes,hume
t
(optiona
l)
pipes and
tunnels with
WORKING
ceramic tile
Fresh Air sucked in through
inlet.

COMPONENTS

INDIRECT COUPLING EARTH

AIR TUNNEL
Outle
t

Blower

Air
Handling
Unit
(optional)

Air
distributio
n system

Inlet air filtered

(mechanically/ natural filters)
Air passed through the length
of tunnel. Heat gained/ lost
through surface contact
Conditioned air supplied to
AHU
AHU contains evaporative
coolers(summers)/dehumidifi
ers (monsoons)/
chillers/cooling pads.
Air Distribution, circulation
and re-circulation of return air
Schematics Earth Air Tunnel

Air Exhaust through solar

chimneys/ exhausts

Air
exhau
st
syste
m

INDIRECT COUPLING EARTH

AIR TUNNEL

Surface Area
available for
contact

Soil Type

Season
Efficiency

Length of
tube(80 M)
Diameter of
tube(4-24
inch)
Clayey Soil is most
effective. Sandy soil is
least

Works best in dry

summer and winters

Soil
Conditions
Depth of
water table
Depth of
tunnel
Surface
conditions

Shady, sunlit, wet, dry,

combination

INDIRECT COUPLING EARTH

AIR TUNNEL

LIMITATIONS

ADVANTAGES
Cost saving(operational
phase-upto 70%)

High installation costs

Reduces air pollution

Cumbersome Installation

Energy saver
Reduces green house
gases

Subject to climate

Need add-ons to achieve

effective conditioning

100% fresh air without

recirculation
Large space required
Retrofit

Durable

Not every area has

accessible geothermal
sources.

Low Noise

Long payback period

PRACTICAL APPLICATION IN INDIA

STUDY I- RETREAT, GUAL PAHARI
EAT used for south block living
quarters.
Tunnels cool outside air and
maintains a comfortable
o
temperature of 22-26 C inside.
4 tunnels to handle 6,000CFM
Each Tunnel 70 m with 70 cm
dia.
4 fans 2 HP each force air in.
Solar chimney force air out.
Supplemented by 10 TR
dehumidifier and chillers.

ENERGY CONSERVATION

PRACTICAL APPLICATION IN INDIA

STUDY II-CINEMA HALL IN JODHPUR,
CHOPASANI ROAD, JODHPUR
Exit Verandah, 1.8 M Wide &35.36 M Long

The projector room projects out

at a height of 3 M X 2 M.

The north, south

and east walls
contribute very
little to the heat
load of the
conditioned
space. The
overhang
provided for
these walls
reduces the solar
load.

East wall, there are no windows or ventilators. The east side has extended foyers and A
recessed entrance with an overhang of 1.75 M which reduces the solar load on this wall

PRACTICAL APPLICATION IN INDIA

STUDY II-CINEMA HALL IN JODHPUR,
CHOPASANI ROAD, JODHPUR
Roof is made of asbestos sheet,
supported on beams. Acts as an air
cavity to circulate the cooled air
available through a wind tower.
Length of EAT- 40 m
Dia of hume pipes- .7 m
Humidity is added by the
fresh air inlets covered with
wet gunny bags at the wind
tower.

Total heat gain - 218 KW

= 218 x 3412 BTU
= 7,43,816 BTU
Therefore 61 TR is the HVAC load.
After introducing the passive
techniques and earth air tunnel the
HVAC load was reduced to 23 TR.
Almost 70% reduction in energy
consumption

Item
Roof (without treatment)
3.53
Roof (with treatment)
3.53
West wall
North wall
East wall
South wall
Doors
Floor
Ventilation
Infiltration
Occupancy
(a) 806 (No.)
Occupancy
Light
Light
Appliances

(b) 806 (No.)

(a) 1500W
(b) 1000 W
15 770W

Area

Volume

Temperature

(m2)

(m3)
1800

(C)

344.3
11 743.34
344.3
11 743.04
45
1537.92

19 839.16

168 253.9

43 842.6
43.75 - 27 = 16.75
41.75-27 = 14.75
41.75 -27= 14.75
41.75-27= 14.75
41.75-27 = 14.75
33.75 -27 = 6.75
6.75

1800

U value
(W/m2 C)
53.48
-

Thermal
gain/loss
(W)
27 = 26.48

33.9- 27 = 6.9
3.5
1.86
3.5
1.86
0.5
4.42
0.28

75
55
1.25

20 184.6
20 385.3
17 774.5
20 385.3
331.9
45 883.8
227.3
57 220
60 450
( - )44330
1875
1250
15880

PRACTICAL APPLICATION IN INDIA

STUDY III- ONGC- RAJIV GANDHI URJA
BHAWAN VASANT KUNJ, NEW DELHI
OVERVIEW
Client ONGC.
Architect Hafeez Contractor.
Site Area- 36,340 Sqm.
G+5 Structure with two basements

Built Up Area- 46,900 Sqm

HVAC Load- 3100 TR.
GREEN AND ENERGY EFFICIENT FEATURES
Use renewable energy such as geothermal energy, solar energy to reduce power
consumption
Ensure roof / wall insulation to reduce load on HVAC.
Use high efficiency and HFC based chillers for reducing environmental degradation due to
carbon & NOX emissions
Use energy modeling before construction so that complete building performance is known and
can be optimized at the design stage itself
Use CO2 sensors monitoring air quality to enhance benefits to occupants
Use building material with high recycled content.
Use certified wood & high-performance glass.
Use double skin external wall.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION IN INDIA

STUDY III- ONGC- RAJIV GANDHI URJA
BHAWAN, VASANT KUNJ, NEW DELHI
To cater the requirement of the building HVAC load a Hume
pipe is being laid at the depth of 8 m from the natural ground
level covering a running length of about 1000 m.

This pipe is having a diameter of 880 mm and at the

corners where the 90o turn is required, is being connected
to each other using the 3mm thick mild steel plates.

As the Hume pipe is running all along the basement

retaining wall so to avoid the infiltration into the walls
through the condensation part of the pipe a gap of 1350
mm has been maintained between the walls and the
pipes.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION IN INDIA

STUDY III- ONGC- RAJIV GANDHI URJA
BHAWAN, VASANT KUNJ, NEW DELHI
From the primary pipe secondary pipes are connected which
consequently connects the earth air tunnels to the seven
AHUs planned at the various points of the basement layout.

The Hume pipes are resting over the 1:2:4 R.C.C. bases so as to
avoid deflection from the pressure exerted by the soil
To cater the humidity requirement in hot and dry summer days two fan
towers are incorporated with the mist sprays have been assimilated
into the designing parameters which in later stage will act as a
landscape feature to the site.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION IN INDIA

STUDY III- ONGC- RAJIV GANDHI URJA
BHAWAN, VASANT KUNJ, NEW DELHI
As the Hume pipes
territory ends on the
outward portion of the
basement retaining walls
the rest of the distance
covered by the cool air to
the AHUs is undertaken
with the help of ducts
placed at the ceiling
level.

At the intersection the air

filters and the dampers
are also proposed to
enhance the indoor air
quality and to minimize
the noise created by the
change in the cross
sectional area from the
Hume pipe to the duct

CONCLUSIONS

The depth should be 4 meters below the ground level for nearly
constant ground temperature characteristics..
The length of the tunnel should be limited between 6070meters for optimum results.
The tunnel can be constructed using any type of pipe ,concrete ,masonry etc, thickness of
tunnel wall should be as less as possible for faster heat exchange
The pipe diameter should preferably be between 3-6 Pipes of lower diameter would require a
larger flow velocity and more pressure to ensure same volumetric supply of cool air.
Adjacent pipes shall have minimum gap of 2 times of the diameter of each pipe.
The pipe overlay ground should preferably be left loose or covered with lawn/foliage. Shade
on the ground would be even better.

The blower should be used with Variable

Frequency Drive(VFD)
In case of space constraints the vertical air shaft
can also be used. In dry ambient conditions, use of
water mist/spray in the tower before supplying air to
rooms/AHU is suggested.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
SECONDARY SEARCH
No.

Title

1)

RENEWABLE ENERGY: LAURIE BURNHAM (EXECUTIVE ISLAND PRESS

SOURCES FOR FUELS EDITOR)
AND ELECTRICITY
GEOTHERMAL
HARSH K. GUPTA
ELSEVIER
RESOURCES:
AN
SCIENTIFIC
ENERGY ALTERNATIVE
PUBLISHING
COMPANY
ENERGY
A. K. SINGH, G. N. TIWARI, N. DEVELOPMENT
CONSERVATION IN A LUGANI AND H. P. GARG
ALTERNATIVES, BCINEMA HALL UNDER
32,
TARA
HOT
AND
DRY
CRESCENT, QUTAB
CONDITION
INSTITUTIONAL
AREA,
NEW
MEHRAULI ROAD

2)

3)

Author

Publisher

TERTIARY SEARCH
http://www.worldbank.org/html/fpd/energy/geothermal/index.htm
http://www.geothermie.de/egec-geothernet/ci_prof/europe/italy/italy_data.pdf
http://gibsonhomebuilders.com/masterbuildershow/2008/07/08/earth-sheltered-homes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_energy
http://www.eai.in/ref/ae/geo/geo.html
http://www.thefullwiki.org/Earth_warming_tubes
http://www.geos.iitb.ac.in/geothermalindia/pubs/geoweb.htm