Mohammed Awwad Ali Al-Dabbas*
The Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology, vol. 25, no. 8, pp.2013-2023, 2011

Abstract : Geothermal energy in Jordan is a low-emission and renewable source that could provide households and commercial buildings with heating and cooling. Access to this 'free' energy may be available just a few feet underground. Thus, the objectives of this research are designing a ground heat exchanger that utilizes geothermal energy in heating to exchange the primary geothermal fluid with a secondary clean fluid, determining the feasibility of designing a ground heat exchanger system to pump geothermal energy under the weather conditions of the Ma`en area in Jordan and calculating the amount of energy saved. The design procedure involves applying energy and momentum equations around the geothermal fluid circuit. The FLUENT software program is used to calculate the ground heat exchanger parameters and the amount of energy saved. Finally, the feasibility study shows that the Geoexchange systems represent a savings to homeowners of around 70% in the heating mode, and up to 50% in the cooling mode compared to conventional fossil fuel systems.

Keyword : Geothermal energy; Economics, Capital cost; Ground heat exchanger; Heat pump; Ma’en