REAL PROJECT GROUND-SOURCE HEAT PUMP PROJECT

01 OFFICE AND WAREHOUSE / NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA

RESULTS
In the early 1990s, New Brunswick Power (the provincial electricity utility in New Brunswick)
decided to promote the use of ground-source heat pump (GSHP) systems. Their goal was to establish
a province-wide base of expertise for the design, installation and maintenance of this technology. To
achieve this objective, demonstration projects were built throughout the province, permitting local
contractors to work on real systems. When plans were drawn up for a new district office in Tracadie,
a groundwater system was selected as a demonstration project.

The new building was a single-story combined office and warehouse with 745 m2 of office area and a
gross floor area of 1,530 m2. It was completed in January 1990.

The cost of the entire HVAC system, including the Building Energy Management System (BEMS),
was estimated at $167,000. In comparison, a conventional system based on variable air volume
rooftop units, with perimeter heating provided by baseboard electric heaters, was estimated at
$119,000. The ground-source system cost was $14,000. The net annual reduction in operating cost is
estimated at $7,000, resulting in a 7-year simple payback period.

SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
An open-loop groundwater system draws water from a 46 m deep supply well with a casing 0.15 m
in diameter. An equivalent discharge well is used to return the groundwater to the aquifer.
Groundwater is pumped using a 1.5 kW pump at a design flow rate of 2.5 L/s. The heat pump liquid
loop and groundwater are separated by a flat plate heat exchanger.

The building loop serves nine heat pumps ranging from 3.5 to 17.6 kW of cooling capacity. Total
installed capacity is 77.4 kW. A heat recovery ventilator is used to preheat the outside fresh air. An
electric resistance heater is also installed in the fresh air duct for final pre-conditioning of the outside
air.
 REAL PROJECT GROUND-SOURCE HEAT PUMP PROJECT

01 OFFICE AND WAREHOUSE / NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA

LESSONS LEARNED
• The building loop initially used water, but this caused freezing damage to one of the heat pumps’ evaporators. Methanol was
added to the building loop to provide freeze protection down to –7 °C.
• The use of backup electric resistance heating resulted in some control problems, which took some time to resolve.
• Reducing internal gains in the building by using more energy efficient lighting and appliances can reduce peak cooling loads
and annual costs while reducing the capital cost of the GSHP system.
• Injection wells may get clogged, adding to maintenance costs; this possibility should be considered at the onset of a project.

THE BIG PICTURE

With a 7-year payback period for this particular installation it was reasonably attractive to the commercial and institutional sector.
Typically in Canada the institutional sector often accepts payback periods in the 5 to 10 year range. However, the commercial sector
often requires a payback period of 5 years or less. Tactics for containing costs in GSHP systems should be used (Kavanaugh, 1997)
in order to maximise the return on investment for these systems.
New Brunswick Power favours groundwater systems wherever groundwater supplies are sufficient. Compared to closed-loop
systems, the initial costs are usually lower and the performance is often superior.

SCHEMATIC OF A COMMERCIAL OPEN-LOOP GROUND-SOURCE HEAT PUMP SYSTEM

REFERENCES
CEDRL Draft Report, 2000, Learning from Experiences with Commercial/Institutional Heat Pump Systems in Cold Climates,
Prepared by Caneta Research Inc.
Dashner, George, “Personal communication,” NB Power, March 2000.
Kavanaugh, S.P., Rafferty, K., Ground-Source Heat Pumps: Design of Geothermal Systems for Commercial and Institutional
Buildings, ASHRAE, 1997.
Parent, Michel, “Personal communication,” Technosim Inc., 2000.