Although energy use is decreasing, there still are ample opportunities for further reduction with the aid of new technologies. The results provide information for energy managers and facility personnel regarding the installation of these new technologies as a viable source for energy savings. A number of candidate technologies were screened to determine which had the greatest potential for significant energy savings. Five technologies were identified as appropriate for further evaluation and possible demonstration. All were packaged systems suitable for rooftop retrofit installation and connection to existing ductwork.
Dual source refers to the use of both air and geothermal sources for the condensing process.
In the cooling mode, the liquid refrigerant discharging from an air source condenser is subcooled by using a ground source cooled fluid. This fluid is then reused after the subcooler to desuperheat the hot gas before it goes into the air-source condenser. This process provides two benefits. Desuperheating with a secondary fluid, or by direct geothermal contact, results in much more rapid desuperheating of the hot gas refrigerant than does air-source desuperheating. This particular demonstration was undertaken to evaluate the performance and cost-effectiveness of the DSHP technology.