Using geothermal

energy in office buildings

Fig. 1 䊳 Accompanying measurements and
monitoring during operation can help
systems to achieve their planned efficiency

䊳 A balance between the heat input

and output will ensure that seasonal
geothermal heat storage systems operate
successfully in the long term

䊳 Control strategies must be planned in

detail and adapted during operation

Reinforcement cage for a foundation pile: The integration of heat exchanger

pipes means that geothermal energy can be used in the building.

S
hallow geothermal energy is being used increasingly often in Faulty operation can reduce the current efficiency of the system, and
new office buildings. The advantage of this renewable energy can also affect its performance in the years to come. A research
source is that the ground can be used alternately for both project conducted by the Institute of Building Services and Energy
heating and cooling purposes, depending on the season. The use of Design (IGS) at the Technical University of Braunschweig and supported
geothermal energy has been further promoted by the German by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology has
Renewable Energies Heat Act (EEWärmeG), which has been in force investigated the energy efficiency and economic efficiency of eleven
since the start of 2009 and provides for the partial use of renewable buildings that use borehole heat exchangers, energy piles or ground
energy sources for heating and cooling new buildings and for water absorbers. The project also involved the optimisation of operation
heating in new buildings. Shallow geothermal energy can be used of five of the systems evaluated. One of the goals of the project was
very efficiently in combination with heating and cooling systems that to develop operating rules based on the experience gathered. A similar
operate at a temperature level close to that of the ground. In heating project supported by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and
operation, the heating energy supplied by ground-source heat pumps Technology and concentrating on well systems and borehole heat ex-
is between three and five times the drive energy. Free cooling in changer systems is also being conducted by the Technical Equipment
summer is even more efficient, as electrical energy is only consumed of Buildings Section at the Institute of Design and Building Construc-
by the circulation pumps. Annual system coefficients of performance tion at the Leibniz Universität Hannover. This project’s monitoring
ranging between 10 and 35 can thus be achieved. Many of those programme covers nine buildings where systems operation will be
involved in this comparatively new area are still relatively inexperi- examined and optimised. This will provide a basis for improving
enced with the technology available. These systems are very sensitive planning tools for the design of system components located in the
to errors and faults because of the low temperature differences ground and for specifying measurement and control details for shal-
between the ground and the heating/cooling equipment in the building. low geothermal systems.
䊳 Heat and cold from the ground Fig. 3: Heat regime in upper
layers of ground*
Solar radiation
Precipitation approx. 1,000 W/m²
Fig. 2: Principle of seasonal storage / active regeneration

Winter Summer Winter

Temperature of
ground storage

20 °C

Heat radiation
HP
Heat Heat Heat ±0m
extraction influx extraction Flow of ground water
– 10 m
4 °C Neutral zone
(approx. 10 °C)
– 20 m
Time Thermal
Heat pump Storage Free cooling Storage Heat pump conduction
operation operation through rock

The ground is characterised by its capacity The most common geothermal energy sys- Geothermal heat flow Temperature increase
for storing heat and its relatively constant tems are as follows: 0.05 – 0.12 W/m² approx. + 3 K per 100 m
– 100 m
temperature level over the course of the en- ■ Borehole heat exchangers: *as per VDI 4640, Sheet 1
tire year. There are various possible means Individually or as an array of exchangers,
of harnessing shallow geothermal energy right beside or below the building at a The long-term functioning of these systems
for heating or cooling purposes, depending depth of between 50 and 150 m. is dependent on the ground regenerating
on the ground conditions and the type of ■ Energy piles: Heat exchanger pipes itself – i.e. approaching the undisturbed
building foundations. This can be achieved integrated into the building’s foundation ground temperature again – sufficiently
using heat exchangers alone, which may also piles, which are necessary for structural quickly. The flow of ground water con-
be integrated into building elements that purposes. Depth of between 10 and tributes to this naturally. Active regenera-
are in contact with the ground, through 30 m. Length and quantity determined tion as provided by heat influx in summer
which a heat transfer fluid circulates or else by static considerations. (building cooling) alternating with heat ex-
directly using ground water. ■ Ground absorbers: Horizontal pipe traction during the winter (building heat-
loops in or underneath the foundation ing) is particularly necessary for storage sys-
Geothermal energy can be brought up to slab, similar to underfloor heating. tems with no flow of ground water. If this
heating temperature using heat pumps in the Heat-transfer surface already defined. regeneration is not sufficient, the tempera-
winter, and excess heat can be removed from ■ Direct use of ground water: ture level of the ground will change to such
the building to the ground using free circu- Supply well pumps ground water an extent that the system will suffer from a
lation in the summer months. These systems through a heat exchanger, water that has significant drop in efficiency and may also
are subject to various conditions imposed been “thermally exploited” is returned become problematic from an ecological
by the authorities, depending on the German through an injection well to the ground viewpoint.
federal state and the authority involved. water layer.

䊳 Monitoring results
Two research projects – Storage of heat and Fig. 4: Comparison of the projects
cold in the ground (German abbreviation:
Research project WKSP TherMo
WKSP) and Thermal monitoring of non-
Project participant Technical University of Braunschweig Leibniz Universität Hannover
residential buildings (TherMo) – are inves-
Project duration 07/2004 – 02/2010 09/2007 – 09/2011
tigating the use of shallow geothermal energy
Buildings investigated 11, with 5 of these subject 9
under service conditions in non-residential to more detailed measurement
buildings. The systems being examined Planning not planned as part of a research not planned as part of a research
differ in terms of their geo(hydro)logy, project, good energy efficiency was project, very good energy efficiency
a target was generally not a target
technical complexity, the fraction of demand
Commissioning 2002 – 2007 2001 – 2009
covered, and their redundancy.
Gross floor area (GFA) 4,500 – 81,000 m2 7,400 – 54,000 m2
Geothermal energy use 4 x borehole heat exchangers, 3 x borehole heat exchangers,
WKSP research project 5 x energy piles, 6 x well systems
The energy yield of the geothermal heat 2 x ground absorbers
storage systems varies from facility to facil- Heating heat pump, heat pump,
ity. The amounts of heat extracted during supplemented by district heating, supplemented by district heating,
gas, CHP plant, exhaust air heat pump gas condensing boiler
heating operation correspond roughly to
Heat transfer concrete core temperature control, concrete core temperature control,
the planned values with a few exceptions, ceiling panels, supplemented by static underfloor heating, static radiators,
whereas the heat influx in summer deviates radiators, air-conditioning systems supplemented by ventilation
strongly in certain cases. Cooling free cooling, free cooling, reversible heat pump
Initially, hardly any of the systems exam- supplemented by chillers, cooling (direct cooling), supplemented by
tower or desiccant cooling system chillers (hybrid coolers, dry coolers)
ined was being operated efficiently. This is
Cold transfer concrete core temperature control, concrete core temperature control,
demonstrated by annual system coefficients ceiling panels, cooling ceilings,
of performance of less than 3 on average for air-conditioning
air-conditioning systems systems, recirculating coolers (servers)
heating and cooling operation; values of up
Ventilation natural, mechanical natural, mainly mechanical
to 10 should actually be attainable here.
Average heating and cooling
The systems themselves and the operation powers (geothermal) 50 – 350 kW 300 – 1,500 kW
of these systems were optimised as part of

2 BINE projektinfo 07/10

 Fig. 5: Annual system coefficients of performance for geothermal heat storage systems ure of the heat pump in one instance. Else-
2005 – 2009 (WKSP) where the transfer systems, e.g. for concrete
core activation, did not work properly as
Facility Borehole heat exchanger Energy piles Ground absorbers they had been installed incorrectly. There
10 were also difficulties with the operation of
Annual system coefficient of
performance for heating and cooling

Energy supplied (heating and cooling)

9 Annual system coefficient of performance = wells and borehole heat exchangers, such as
Electrical energy consumption incl. circ. pump
8 leaks in the exchanger array or failure of the
7 production pump caused by earth faults.
6 The control systems were also not set up
5 optimally in most cases.
4 The relevant authorities rarely checked the
3 monitoring strategy that they had pre-
2 scribed for ground water use during the
1 construction phase and final acceptance for
0 the buildings investigated. The measurements
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
required during operation were often in-
complete, or else temperature limit values
monitoring with the result that all systems nificantly despite similar building functions were not being adhered to. For this reason,
have been achieving annual system coeffi- and similar use of geothermal energy with the authorities even demanded that one of
cients of performance of between 3 and 7 high fractions of demand covered. The the systems be shut down for a period.
since 2007 (Fig. 5). annual system coefficients of performance Even small inaccuracies in measurements
For many of the systems investigated, free determined so far are around 7 for a facility can have a strong impact on the measured
cooling operation has not yet been used or has with borehole heat exchangers in heat and energy balance as these systems operate on
only been used in a limited manner. The rea- cooling operation (alternating operation). the basis of very small temperature differ-
sons for this were incorrect operating policies, Based on initial predictions, the energy effi- ences. The standard temperature transducers
overheated ground, and system components ciency of individual systems can be in- generally used by the control systems in
that were not adapted for the low tempera- creased by up to 30%. Final comparative measuring temperatures have an error tol-
ture differences between the heat sink and evaluations are not yet possible as the meas- erance of +/–1 kelvin and can result in ener-
the building cooling system. There is still urement phase of this research project is gy balances that are incorrect by up to 36%.
scope for further optimisation here. still in progress. However, monitoring has As part of the project, the accuracy of tem-
already helped to identify problems and perature measurements was increased for
TherMo research project optimise operation in a number of cases so far. three of the buildings and the possible
The overall primary energy consumptions The configuration of several systems was measurement error for the temperature dif-
of the buildings investigated vary quite sig- not favourable, which even led to total fail- ference was thus reduced to 11%.

䊳 Experience gathered in service

Planning changer pumps. In the case of more com- accompanied by measurements and optimised
Heating and cooling loads can be minimised plex systems, careful prior consideration until regular operation is achieved.
by suitable architectural design, well-insu- should be given to defining the relevant
lated facades, sun protection measures and envelope boundaries for the calculation of Other conclusions drawn by the resear-
ventilation strategies. Only then are systems coefficients of performance so that heat chers with regard to control:
that operate with a small temperature dif- amounts and electricity consumptions can ■ Storage systems should be commissioned

ference with respect to the ground able to be recorded correctly. during the heating period in order to
provide efficient heating and cooling. In or- Given the small temperature differences create a larger heat sink for free cooling
der for the heat or cold from the ground to present (heat source side 3–5 K), the tem- in summer.
actually reach the building, system compo- perature sensors must be calibrated very ■ Chillers should be commissioned at the

nents for geothermal energy use such as accurately in order to deliver an exact heat end of this season if possible, when the
heat exchangers, pumps and hydraulic yield balance. If included in planning at an cooling potential for free cooling has
switches must be carefully designed. The early stage, the measurement points neces- been exhausted – otherwise it is often no
heat pump and, if present, the well pump sary for the heat yield balance and for the longer possible to cool the ground stor-
should be capable of operating with partial monitoring required by the authorities can age system back down to the temperature
loads in order to be able to adapt flexibly to be integrated into the building control level required for free cooling.
demand – for example, by employing level systems that are generally already present. ■ Inefficient operation of concrete core

switching or a frequency converter. A ther- As a rule, these systems should then store all activation in the transitional periods in
mal simulation is useful when designing relevant measurement data. spring and autumn should be avoided
larger systems. by employing a “dead range” (neither
Control system heating nor cooling) depending on the
Measurement equipment Once the requirements demanded of the average outside temperature.
A certain minimum amount of measure- building and equipment have been fulfilled, ■ Optimal coordination of control

ment equipment is the basis for successful- the efficiency and success of the use of strategies with a combination of slow-
ly controlling and monitoring operation in geothermal energy depend on a suitable acting and fast-acting transfer systems –
the long term. Alongside temperature sen- control strategy. In general, this control otherwise heat extraction from the
sors, this also includes meters to measure strategy should include and coordinate all ground by means of slow-acting building
the amount of heat/cold delivered and elec- items of heating and cooling equipment element activation will be lower than
tricity consumption measurements for heat present. The overall philosophy should be required and assumed during planning.
pumps, well pumps and borehole heat ex- checked in detail, and operation should be

BINE projektinfo 07/10 3

䊳 Conclusion PROJECT ORGANISATION

■ Project Funding
The experience gathered in these research projects demonstrates that shallow geother- Federal Ministry of Economics
and Technology (BMWi)
mal energy is essentially well-suited for providing temperature control in office and 11019 Berlin, Germany
administration buildings. With a suitable design and the right operating policy, sig-
Project Management Organisation Jülich
nificant energy cost savings and CO2 reductions are possible compared to conventional
Research Centre Jülich
heating and cooling systems. This is dependent on the size, efficiency and degree of Rolf Stricker
utilisation of the system. 52425 Jülich, Germany
However, almost all of the buildings examined that are using this relatively new tech-
nology still show up weaknesses in planning, design and, in particular, in terms of control ■ Project Number
and operation. Building operators are often not very conscious of geothermal energy 0327364A, B
systems in everyday operation when these systems are working properly or else serve
to supplement the performance of other redundant systems. Operation monitoring is IMPRINT
a good idea because it increases efficiency and also helps to avoid downtime. The inlet
and outlet temperatures of the geothermal heat storage system and the amount of heat ■ ISSN
0937 – 8367
extracted and fed-in should be monitored here as a minimum. In this way, deviations
from regular operation can be detected at an early stage and the necessary measures ■ Publisher
FIZ Karlsruhe
can be quickly implemented.
76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
It is generally necessary to adapt the building strategy and the equipment and control Germany
strategy to account for geothermal energy use. A high quality standard must be adhered
■ Copyright
to during planning and construction in order to ensure the energy efficiency of systems, Text and illustrations from this publication
thermal comfort in the building and the long-term functioning of systems. A sufficient can only be used if permission has been granted
number of accurate measurement devices are necessary in order to monitor operation. by the BINE editorial team. We would be
delighted to hear from you.
After detailed acceptance and commissioning, an initial adjustment phase of around
two years is then necessary. The system should be accompanied by measurements during ■ Editor
Dorothee Gintars
this time so that it can be adjusted for the real framework conditions and so that the
interplay between the building, the geothermal energy systems, other temperature control
equipment and the building users can be optimised. If contractors and system operators
have insufficient experience, this phase may turn out to be significantly longer. BINE Information Service
Guidelines for the harnessing of geothermal energy in office buildings by using borehole Energy Expertise
heat exchangers, energy piles and ground absorbers have been developed based on the
experience gathered as part of the WKSP project. These guidelines will be published BINE Information Service provides infor-
as a BINE technical book. mation on energy-efficient technologies
and renewable energy.
Using a combination of free brochures,
the BINE web site (www.bine.info), and
a newsletter, BINE shows how innovative
PROJECT ADDRESSES ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
▼
▼

research ideas hold up in practice

WKSP accompanying research Internet (in German).
• TU Braunschweig • www.enob.info BINE is an information service by
IGS FIZ Karlsruhe, which is promoted
Franziska Bockelmann, Herdis Kipry Literature (in German) by the Federal Ministry of Economics
Mühlenpfordtstrasse 23 • Erdwärme für Bürogebäude nutzen. and Technology (BMWi).
38106 Braunschweig, Germany FIZ Karlsruhe. BINE Informationsdienst,
www.igs.bau.tu-bs.de Bonn. Stuttgart: Fraunhofer IRB Verl.,
WKSP cooperation partner (erscheint 1. Quartal 2011). 160 S., 1. Aufl.,
• Meteocontrol GmbH, ISBN 978-3-8167-8325-1, 29,80 Euro
Energy & Weather Services BINE-Fachbuch
Spicherer Strasse 48
86157 Augsburg, Germany Picture credits
WKSP cooperation partner • Background photo p. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 5 and FIZ Karlsruhe, Büro Bonn
• TU Braunschweig background photo p. 4: IGS, Braunschweig
Kaiserstrasse 185 – 197
Institut für Grundbau • Fig. 1: Katzenbach, Darmstadt
53113 Bonn
und Bodenmechanik • Fig. 3: LUH, Hanover
Germany
Gaußstrasse 2
38106 Braunschweig, Germany Service Tel.: +49 228 92379-0
TherMo accompanying research • This Projektinfo brochure is also available Fax: +49 228 92379-29
KERSTIN CONRADI · Mediengestaltung, Berlin, Germany

• Leibniz Universität Hannover, as an online document at www.bine.info

under Publikationen/Projektinfos. [email protected]
Institute of Design and
Building Construction Additional information in German, www.bine.info
Gunnar Harhausen, such as other project addresses and links,
Matthias Wohlfahrt can be found under “Service”.
Herrenhäuser Strasse 8
30419 Hannover, Germany
www.iek.uni-hannover.de
Kooperationspartner TherMo
• UBeG GbR,
Dr. Burkhard Sanner
Zum Boden 6
35580 Wetzlar, Germany

4 BINE projektinfo 07/10