With 2025’s Future Homes Standard mandating alternatives to fossil fuel heating systems in new build houses, heat pumps have emerged as the front runner technology. Within the UK’s climate, ground source heat pumps are more efficient and reliable, due to ground source heat being unaffected by fluctuating temperatures. However, due to needing more space and excavations being needed to bury the ground loops in garden space, air source heat pumps have emerged as the industry’s frontrunner. There are, however, systems available to tie ground source heating systems into other elements of the building, reducing installation costs and levelling the cost of ground source and air source systems. One such system, tied into reinforced precast concrete pile foundations, are Centrum Pile’s energy piles.
Energy piles are an innovative solution combining traditional concrete piles with advanced geothermal technology. By integrating PE100 tubes into standard concrete piles, these structures can effectively harness shallow geothermal energy from the ground, typically at depths of 7-18 meters. This energy is then used for efficient heating and cooling of buildings, functioning similarly to conventional ground source heating systems.
• Energy pile dimensions: Ranges from 250sq mm à 400sq mm
• Provides between 30-50 W energy / meter pile, depending on soil conditions and other factors.
• The correct amount of energy piles for any given project can be dimensioned using Centrum’s tool, to ensure the right balance in the system.
How Energy Piles Work
During colder months, energy is extracted from the ground, where temperatures typically remain constant at around 8-10°C. This geothermal energy is utilized to heat buildings in conjunction with a heat pump.
In the summer, the system reverses, injecting energy back into the ground to cool the building. This method, known as "passive cooling," circulates the cool liquid from the ground throughout the building, storing energy for future heating needs.
Dimensioning Energy Piles
Centrum is able to accurately estimate the right amount of energy piles for any given project using a tool developed in a Ph.D. study in 2018.
The tool needs the following input factors:
• Building needs (heating / cooling demands)
• Thermal properties of soil (thermal conductivity / heating capacity)
• Energy pile length
All of which are typically given in a geotechnical report and an energy demand profile for the building.
The tool evaluates whether energy piles can meet the building's energy demands and prevent ground freezing, providing a simulation of the required number of piles and the expected fluid temperatures in the system.
Feasibility Simulations
By analysing the impact of different energy pile configurations, Centrum can optimize the system to avoid permafrost conditions in the soil, ensuring efficient energy extraction and injection. This proactive approach helps maintain the integrity of the ground and the performance of the energy pile system.
Example:
The above case is not feasible, as our steady-state average temperature reaches -4 degrees C after 5 years in operation under the specified loads.
By adding cooling into the dimensioning, the case is feasible as the injected energy from the cooling provides a steady-state average temperature above 2 degrees over 25 years.
Centrum’s energy piles represent a significant advancement in energy-efficient construction practices, offering a practical solution for reducing energy consumption while enhancing the comfort and efficiency of buildings. By leveraging geothermal energy, these piles contribute to decarbonisation in the construction industry.
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