Experimental study of the operative characteristics of a ground-coupled heat pump in intermittent heating mode

An experimental study on the intermittent operative characteristics of a ground-coupled heat pump in heating mode was performed. The inlet and outlet temperature variations of buried coil evaporator and condenser are presented. The results show that the intermittent operation mode can minify the decreasing of ground temperature and heighten the temperature of fluid entering heat pump, thus it can improve the operation performance of heat pump. Moreover, the intermittent operation can also increase the quantity of heat absorbed from ground and enhance utilization efficiency of geothermal energy. The present study can provide a preference for practical design and operation of ground-coupled heat pump.