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Impact of the environmental conditions on the efficiency of earth-to-air heat exchangers under various configurations

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Abstract

In the present paper, the impact of local climatic conditions on the efficiency of earth-to-air heat exchangers (EAHEs) is investigated by experiments. Four cases of EAHEs were considered: (1) a simple EAHE, (2) an EAHE with solar protection at the upper parts, (3) an EAHE with a chimney effect at the outlet, and (4) an EAHE with a fan at the inlet. The values of air temperature and relative humidity at the inlet, as well as at the outlet of the exchanger, were determined. For Cases 1 and 2, the lowest value of ΔT was -9 °C. However, the highest values were 11.9 and 12.5 °C for Cases 1 and 2, respectively. For Cases 3 and 4, the values of ΔT were equal to 7 and 12.5 °C, respectively. For the hygrometry and in Case 1, the difference in the relative humidity (ΔRH) has been increased by 13% and then decreased by 30%. Case 2 provided an increase in ΔRH by 47%. However, an increase of ΔRH by 43% followed by a decrease by 47% was observed in Case 4. Finally, Case 4 yielded a drying tendency and a stable decrease in ΔRH by 30% during almost all day. The use of a fan allowed the most significant control and reducing the impact of external climatic conditions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Energy in Arid Areas (ENERGARID), University of Bechar, P.O. Box 417, 08000, Bechar, Algeria

    N. Sakhri

  2. Unit of Research On Materials and Renewable Energies, Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, Abou Bekr Belkaid University, P.O. Box 119, 13000, Tlemcen, Algeria

    Y. Menni

  3. Department of Technology, University Centre of Naama – Ahmed Salhi, P.O. Box 66, 45000, Naama, Algeria

    H. Ameur

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  1. N. Sakhri
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  2. Y. Menni
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Correspondence to H. Ameur.

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Editorial responsibility: Shahid Hussain.

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Sakhri, N., Menni, Y. & Ameur, H. Impact of the environmental conditions on the efficiency of earth-to-air heat exchangers under various configurations. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 19, 223–236 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-021-03165-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-021-03165-w

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