On the importance of a coordinated site characterization for the sustainable intensive thermal use of the shallow subsurface in urban areas: a case study

On the importance of a coordinated site characterization for the sustainable intensive thermal use of the shallow subsurface in urban areas: a case study

Shallow geothermal applications have become standard solutions for heating and cooling in many newly built or redeveloped residential neighborhoods, but current urban development practices do not yet consider the new demands that result from the intensive thermal use of the shallow subsurface. A coo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental earth sciences Vol. 76; no. 2; pp. 1 - 15
Main Authors: Schelenz, S., Vienken, T., Shao, H., Firmbach, L., Dietrich, P.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2017
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
Aquifers
Biogeosciences
Boreholes
Case studies
Construction standards
Cooling
Cost control
Costs
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Energy storage
Environmental Science and Engineering
Exploration
Geochemistry
Geology
Heat exchangers
Heating
Heating and cooling
Hydrology/Water Resources
Mathematical analysis
Neighborhoods
Predictions
Residential areas
Residential development
Solutions
Subsurface Energy Storage
Temperature
Temperature changes
Terrestrial Pollution
Thematic Issue
Urban areas
Urban development
Urbanization
User requirements
Direct push profiling
Shallow geothermal energy
Borehole heat exchanger
Geothermal exploration
Site investigation
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Summary:Shallow geothermal applications have become standard solutions for heating and cooling in many newly built or redeveloped residential neighborhoods, but current urban development practices do not yet consider the new demands that result from the intensive thermal use of the shallow subsurface. A coordinated site characterization is of great importance as a sound basis for an optimized planning of geothermal systems that brings together user requirements (heating, cooling, and/or seasonal energy storage) and (hydro)geological subsurface conditions. The aim of this study is to raise awareness and to demonstrate the relevance of a coordinated site characterization. Therefore, this study quantifies the advantages of a site-specific over a desktop-based site characterization in reducing uncertainty for calculation of borehole heat exchanger length and predicted induced temperature changes in the subsurface for a newly developed residential neighborhood in the city of Taucha, Germany. Results show that savings of over EUR 1850 per house (EUR 98,050 for the entire neighborhood) can be achieved by a coordinated exploration and prediction accuracy of temperature plume development was substantially improved. Although being more cost intensive, exploration costs for this case study are <3% of the assumed individual geothermal system costs of EUR 16,000 if divided equally among geothermal users. Three different options are presented to implement coordinated exploration concepts into site development practice.
ISSN:1866-6280
1866-6299
DOI:10.1007/s12665-016-6331-9