Journal article
Geothermal pavements: A city-scale investigation on providing sustainable heating for the city of Cardiff, UK
N Makasis, X Gu, MJ Kreitmair, GA Narsilio, R Choudhary
Renewable Energy | PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD | Published : 2023
Abstract
Geothermal pavements can be used with ground-source heat pump systems to sustainably provide energy for heating and cooling by incorporating ground heat exchanger elements underneath pavement surfaces. This work investigates the suitability of geothermal pavements at scale, adopting the city of Cardiff, UK, as a case-study. A two-scale modelling framework, combining detailed small-scale with holistic large-scale approaches, is presented, incorporating the accuracy of the former with the continuity of the latter. The results show that between 184 kWh and 345 kWh of thermal energy per metre length of pavement can be supplied annually, depending on soil profile. Moreover, geothermal operation c..
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Awarded by UK Research and Innovation
Funding Acknowledgements
This work was supported by CMMI-EPSRC: Modeling and Monitoring of Urban Underground Climate Change (EP/T019425/1), by the Centre for Smart Infrastructure & Construction (EP/N021614/1) and the Centre for Digital Build Britain at University of Cambridge, as well as AI for Science and Government (ASG), UKRI's Strategic Priorities Fund awarded to the Alan Turing Institute, UK (EP/T001569/1). The authors are grateful to Gareth Farr, the British Geological Survey (BGS), and the Cardiff Harbour Authority for the provision of high quality hydro-geological data for the region as well as annual heat demand data for greater Cardiff. Support for the Australia-based co-authors was provided by the Australian Research Council (ARC) (project number LP170100072).