Low to Zero Energy Airsourced Earth Coupled Cooling and Heating Systems

CIBSE Technical Symposium, DeMontfort University, Leicester, UK
6th-7th September 2011

A significant portion of the energy consumption associated with the built environment is due to the Building Services Engineering (BSE) sector of the construction industry. Air conditioning and heating systems use significant energy in buildings. According to Energy Efficiency Best Practice Programme (2002) [1], heating and hot water takes up 84% of annual energy consumption in UK residential buildings and Action Energy (2003) [2] states that 42% of energy is associated with heating and cooling. Therefore steps need to be taken to improve energy efficiency and thereby make reductions in carbon footprint.
This paper presents an overview of air?sourced earth coupled cooling and heating systems (ASECch) and describes ongoing research intended to provide clear information on their operation and performance through identifying the most important parameters of these systems in different climates and applications.
The presenting author has worked with ASECch systems since 1994 and has experience with their application in diverse climatic zones in different countries around the world. This particular paper will describe the research and application of ASECch systems.
The potential for the ASECch system is to deliver comfortable, healthier buildings for reduced energy costs and associated greenhouse gas emissions.