Development of an Integrated Design Platform for Hydrothermal Energy Systems
.png)
수열 에너지 통합 설계 플랫폼 개발
Development of an Integrated Design Platform for Hydrothermal Energy
◇ Research Background
As climate change mitigation and carbon neutrality goals become increasingly important, the utilization of renewable energy sources has gained significant attention. Among them, hydrothermal energy is emerging as a next-generation eco-friendly energy source due to its relatively stable temperature throughout the year. In Korea, various hydrothermal sources such as river water, dam reservoir water, and raw water are available, with an estimated potential of producing approximately 100 GW of energy—equivalent to about 10% of the nation’s total electricity demand.
This study aims to reduce primary energy consumption by replacing conventional fossil-fuel-based heating and cooling systems with hydrothermal heat pump systems. Additionally, it seeks to perform an economic analysis and develop an integrated design platform for the application and optimization of hydrothermal-source heat pump systems.
◇ Research Methods and System Descrip
1. System Modeling Using TRNSYS
Modeling of hydrothermal-source heat pump systems and conventional HVAC systems using TRNSYS 18
Incorporation of real hydrothermal source temperature and flow-rate data, and construction of system components including hydrothermal heat pumps, thermal storage tanks, heat exchangers, and circulation pumps
Development of a compensation-operation module to prevent freezing during winter
Model configuration enabling input of heating/cooling loads for various building types, including residential buildings, offices, hospitals, data centers, and department stores
2. Modeling of Conventional HVAC Systems
Development of a baseline model including gas boilers, air-cooled chillers, absorption chillers, and cooling towers
Modeling based on measured operational data from the HVAC system of the Korea Water Resources Corporation’s Han River Basin Headquarters building
3. Database Construction and Analysis
Collection of actual water temperature data from hydrothermal sources such as the Han River and Geum River (river water), Soyang Dam and Daecheong Dam (reservoir water), and raw water from water treatment facilities
Performance evaluation of a 500-RT-class hydrothermal heat pump system during summer and winter seasons
4. Performance and Economic Analysis
Development of standard models for both hydrothermal heat pump systems and conventional systems
Comparative analysis of performance indicators such as COP, primary energy consumption, Life Cycle Cost (LCC), and Life Cycle Climate Performance (LCCP)
Visualization and performance assessment conducted through a Python-based web GUI
◇ Research Results
- Performance Evaluation
When applying the hydrothermal-source heat pump system, the monthly average heating/cooling COP was 3.55, representing a 49.29% improvement compared to the conventional HVAC system.
Both systems were operated under identical heating/cooling load conditions (Cooling: 12.10 W/m², Heating: 17.21 W/m²).
Annual primary energy consumption decreased by 12.8%, from 23,094,235,157 kJ (conventional system) to 20,136,451,697 kJ (hydrothermal-source system).
- Effect of Compensation Operation
Compensation operation is required when the source-side pipe temperature falls below 2 °C, and energy consumption increases proportionally with the number of compensation-operation days.
For an office building using raw water from the Han River basin, a 10-day occurrence of compensation operation resulted in approximately a 2% increase in energy consumption.
- Economic Analysis
Due to reductions in annual primary energy consumption, operational cost savings are expected for the hydrothermal-source heat pump system.
When compared to results from the Korea Energy Agency, the COP values derived from this study showed an error margin within 5%, demonstrating excellent agreement and reliability.