IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v340y2025ics0360544225047334.html

Thermal storage performance of ground source heat pump–energy pile systems under intermittent and continuous operation in the Tibetan Plateau

Author

Listed:
  • Wang, Chenglong
  • Tang, Chenxi
  • Liu, Hanlong
  • Bouazza, Abdelmalek
  • Hu, Xiaochuan
  • Kong, Gangqiang

Abstract

This study evaluated the performance of a GSHP system with an energy pile (EP) in a high-altitude cold region through field testing and numerical simulation. Field experiments were conducted under continuous operation (H-24) and intermittent operation (12 h on/12 h off), and a three-dimensional finite element model was developed to simulate additional intermittent cycles and inlet water temperature conditions. The results show that intermittent operation significantly enhances both the average daily thermal storage capacity of the system and the heat exchange efficiency of the EP compared with continuous operation, with shorter intervals providing greater benefits. Under continuous operation, the energy efficiency ratio (EER) declines rapidly at the start and then stabilizes, whereas in intermittent operation the EER partially recovers after each shutdown, yielding an overall improvement. However, as inlet water temperature increases, the relative advantage of intermittent operation decreases for both thermal storage and heat exchange efficiency, while the EER shows a marked downward trend.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Chenglong & Tang, Chenxi & Liu, Hanlong & Bouazza, Abdelmalek & Hu, Xiaochuan & Kong, Gangqiang, 2025. "Thermal storage performance of ground source heat pump–energy pile systems under intermittent and continuous operation in the Tibetan Plateau," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 340(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:340:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225047334
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.139091
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544225047334
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2025.139091?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhang, Yao & Xia, Caichu & Zhou, Shuwei & Xu, Kangwen & Cao, Shanpeng & Peng, Wenbo & Zhang, Jianxin, 2025. "Effect of intermittent operation on the thermal performance of a solar seasonal thermal storage heating system in a cold-region tunnel," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 244(C).
    2. Chang, Honglin & Kong, Gangqiang & Sun, Guangchao & Wang, Chenglong & Zhou, Yang & Yang, Qing, 2025. "Thermomechanical response characteristics of full-scale prestressed high-strength concrete energy pile under the flexible constraint of cushion layer," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 331(C).
    3. Sun, Zhiwen & Kong, Gangqiang & Liu, Hanlong, 2025. "Performance of a ground source heat pump with energy piles and borehole heat exchangers under continuous and intermittent operating modes," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 335(C).
    4. Ding, Xuanming & Peng, Chen & Wang, Chenglong & Kong, Gangqiang, 2022. "Heat transfer performance of energy piles in seasonally frozen soil areas," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 903-918.
    5. Hu, Shuaijun & Kong, Gangqiang & Zhang, Changsen & Fu, Jinghui & Li, Shiyao & Yang, Qing, 2024. "Data-driven models for the steady thermal performance prediction of energy piles optimized by metaheuristic algorithms," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    6. Sani, Abubakar Kawuwa & Singh, Rao Martand, 2020. "Response of unsaturated soils to heating of geothermal energy pile," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(P2), pages 2618-2632.
    7. Figueira, João S. & García Gil, Alejandro & Vieira, Ana & Michopoulos, Apostolos K. & Boon, David P. & Loveridge, Fleur & Cecinato, Francesco & Götzl, Gregor & Epting, Jannis & Zosseder, Kai & Bloemen, 2024. "Shallow geothermal energy systems for district heating and cooling networks: Review and technological progression through case studies," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).
    8. Park, Hyunku & Lee, Seung-Rae & Yoon, Seok & Choi, Jung-Chan, 2013. "Evaluation of thermal response and performance of PHC energy pile: Field experiments and numerical simulation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 12-24.
    9. Apergis, Nicholas & Tsoumas, Chris, 2011. "Integration properties of disaggregated solar, geothermal and biomass energy consumption in the U.S," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(9), pages 5474-5479, September.
    10. Zhang, Changxing & Hu, Songtao & Liu, Yufeng & Wang, Qing, 2016. "Optimal design of borehole heat exchangers based on hourly load simulation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 116(P1), pages 1180-1190.
    11. Tsagarakis, Konstantinos P., 2020. "Shallow geothermal energy under the microscope: Social, economic, and institutional aspects," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(P2), pages 2801-2808.
    12. Johannes Emmerling & Pietro Andreoni & Ioannis Charalampidis & Shouro Dasgupta & Francis Dennig & Simon Feindt & Dimitris Fragkiadakis & Panagiotis Fragkos & Shinichiro Fujimori & Martino Gilli & Caro, 2024. "A multi-model assessment of inequality and climate change," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 14(12), pages 1254-1260, December.
    13. Ayaz, Hassam & Faizal, Mohammed & Bouazza, Abdelmalek, 2024. "Energy, economic, and carbon emission analysis of a residential building with an energy pile system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    14. Cui, Ping & Jia, Linrui & Zhou, Xinlei & Yang, Wenxiao & Zhang, Wenke, 2020. "Heat transfer analysis of energy piles with parallel U-Tubes," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 1046-1058.
    15. You, Tian & Yan, Tongrui & Huang, Yiyu & Huang, Shuai & Cui, Hongzhi, 2025. "Thermo-mechanical coupling performance analysis of phase change material and nanofluid synergized high-efficiency energy piles for shallow geothermal energy utilization," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 334(C).
    16. Wang, Chenglong & Zhu, Pengxi & Bouazza, Abdelmalek & Kong, Gangqiang & Ding, Xuanming, 2024. "An approach for thermal performance assessment and optimization design of energy diaphragm walls (EDWs) with seasonal thermal load via numerical modeling," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(PD).
    17. Gao, Jun & Zhang, Xu & Liu, Jun & Li, Kuishan & Yang, Jie, 2008. "Numerical and experimental assessment of thermal performance of vertical energy piles: An application," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 85(10), pages 901-910, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhi Chen & Bo Wang & Lifei Zheng & Henglin Xiao & Jingquan Wang, 2021. "Research on Heat Exchange Law and Structural Design Optimization of Deep Buried Pipe Energy Piles," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-19, October.
    2. Cunha, R.P. & Bourne-Webb, P.J., 2022. "A critical review on the current knowledge of geothermal energy piles to sustainably climatize buildings," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    3. Wang, Haoyu & Zhang, Dan & Yang, Bo & Lin, Kai, 2025. "Estimation of groundwater flow rates based on the thermal-hydro response of energy pile: A multi-stage inversion framework with optimisation algorithm," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 341(C).
    4. Liu, Xinye & Zhang, Guozhu & Wang, Zhongtao & Wang, Hao & Zhao, Xu, 2025. "Performance analysis and optimal operation of PCM-backfilled energy pile for cold energy storage: A field test study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 341(C).
    5. Cherati, Davood Yazdani & Ghasemi-Fare, Omid, 2021. "Practical approaches for implementation of energy piles in Iran based on the lessons learned from the developed countries experiences," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    6. Ma, Qijie & Wang, Peijun, 2020. "Underground solar energy storage via energy piles," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(C).
    7. M.F, Yozy Kepdib & R.M, Singh & C, Madiai & J.A, Facciorusso, 2025. "Heating and cooling geothermal systems in urban settings: The potential of energy micropiles," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    8. Gan, Zhengheng & Yin, Mei & Dou, Shiqi & Chang, Hong & Jiang, Huicheng, 2025. "Enhanced thermal performance of energy piles based on composite phase change material and random aggregate modelling," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 341(C).
    9. Ma, Qijie & Wang, Peijun & Fan, Jianhua & Klar, Assaf, 2022. "Underground solar energy storage via energy piles: An experimental study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(PB).
    10. Nam, Yujin & Chae, Ho-Byung, 2014. "Numerical simulation for the optimum design of ground source heat pump system using building foundation as horizontal heat exchanger," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 933-942.
    11. Zhao, Qiang & Chen, Baoming & Tian, Maocheng & Liu, Fang, 2018. "Investigation on the thermal behavior of energy piles and borehole heat exchangers: A case study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 787-797.
    12. Cao, Ziming & Zhang, Guozhu & Liu, Yiping & Zhao, Xu & Li, Chenglin, 2022. "Influence of backfilling phase change material on thermal performance of precast high-strength concrete energy pile," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 374-390.
    13. Georgiadis, Konstantinos & Skordas, Dimitrios & Kamas, Ioannis & Comodromos, Emilios, 2020. "Heating and cooling induced stresses and displacements in heat exchanger piles in sand," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(P2), pages 2599-2617.
    14. Faizal, Mohammed & Bouazza, Abdelmalek & McCartney, John S., 2022. "Thermal resistance analysis of an energy pile and adjacent soil using radial temperature gradients," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 1066-1077.
    15. Faizal, Mohammed & Bouazza, Abdelmalek & Singh, Rao M., 2016. "Heat transfer enhancement of geothermal energy piles," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 16-33.
    16. Zhao, Yong Zhi & Shi, Zhenming & Ai, Zhi Yong, 2024. "Evolution of mechanical and thermal behaviors of energy piles considering soil consolidation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 361(C).
    17. Najafian Jazi, Fereydoun & Ghasemi-Fare, Omid & Rockaway, Thomas D., 2024. "Understanding the impact of flow mechanisms in unsaturated layer on heat transfer near a partially submerged geothermal heat exchanger," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
    18. Park, Sangwoo & Lee, Dongseop & Lee, Seokjae & Chauchois, Alexis & Choi, Hangseok, 2017. "Experimental and numerical analysis on thermal performance of large-diameter cast-in-place energy pile constructed in soft ground," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 297-311.
    19. Akbari Garakani, Amir & Mokhtari Jozani, Sahar & Hashemi Tari, Pooyan & Heidari, Bahareh, 2022. "Effects of heat exchange fluid characteristics and pipe configuration on the ultimate bearing capacity of energy piles," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    20. Sani, Abubakar Kawuwa & Singh, Rao Martand & Amis, Tony & Cavarretta, Ignazio, 2019. "A review on the performance of geothermal energy pile foundation, its design process and applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 54-78.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:340:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225047334. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.