Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 89 (2018) 261–280

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

An intense review on the latest advancements of Earth Air Heat Exchangers T

a a,⁎ b c
Namrata Bordoloi , Aashish Sharma , Himanshu Nautiyal , Varun Goel
a
School of Mechanical Engineering, Lovely Professional University, Punjab 144411, India
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, THDC IHET, Tehri, Uttarakhand 249124, India
c
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur 177005, India

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Energy saving is a vital element in today's scenario. Earth Air Heat Exchangers (EAHE) is a technique that
Earth Air Heat Exchanger promotes energy savings. EAHE is a non-conventional technique that uses the earth's underground heat for space
Energy saving cooling/heating. In this article, review of different combinations of EAHEs is presented. The review presents an
Geothermal energy apprehensible summary of the previous works on EAHE. The review addresses an elaborated description of the
Sustainable building
analytical and experimental studies on the different combination of EAHE and analyses the results from the
Renewable energy sources
thermal performance. It also consider the environmental aspect in the field of energy saving. It is concluded from
the summary that the design parameters directly or inversely affect the outlet temperature. The result also shows
that the pipe materials does not have much influence on the outlet temperature. In the case of energy saving,
EAHE technology saves more energy that can replace the conventional air conditioning systems. Thus, this
technology can effectively reduce the greenhouse gases and improve the environment.

1. Introduction According to the research conducted by United States Department of

energy, RES can be a good alternative to the non-renewable sources.
Energy is one of the major input in the economic growth of a Sources like geothermal energy, ocean energy, solar energy and wind
country but energy saving is one of the major challenges in today's energy can be envisaged in the years. These sources have enormous
world. Our concern is to deprecate the use of high-grade energy and to potential to replace the prevailing sources if used in a correct way.
endorse the use of renewable energy. Out of the world's total energy The energy usage depends on temperature, humidity as its changes
demand, RES supply up to 14% [1,2]. Renewable energy includes affect the demand for space heating or cooling. In summers, generally
biomass, geothermal energy, hydropower etc. [1] In the developing in commercial buildings, air conditioning systems are used. These sys-
countries, energy sector is considered as a crucial sector, as the demand tems improve the efficiency by using a heat sink and are cooler than the
for consumption is increasing than its production. India consumes more standard air. Heating/cooling of air with Earth Air Heat Exchanger
energy in residential, commercial and agricultural sectors than China, (EAHE) is a passive way to reduce the heat losses due to ventilation and
Japan and Russia etc. [3]. thermal comfort in buildings. This system uses geothermal energy by
The consumption of energy in buildings has significantly increased burying a network of pipes of different combination installed in open
in the last decade. In order to improve the energy conservation in spaces or beneath the building at a certain depth [7].
building, it has been recommended to use energy audit in buildings
during construction. The government of developing countries have in- 1.1. Earth Air Heat Exchanger (EAHE)
itiated campaigns and amended strict laws against the consumption of
energy. European countries have pledged to reduce the annual con- Depending on the current scenario, energy saving has become one
sumption of primary energy by 20% by 2020 [4]. The Japanese Min- of the important element for the economic growth countries like US,
istry of Environment (MOE) launched a campaign that encourages the Russia, India etc. have been taking initiatives to save energy. EAHE is a
people to wear lighter clothes and for companies to set their air con- new passive technology efficient to save energy which has been used by
ditioner at 28 °C [5]. In India, the government in 1977 had created a many countries for achieving thermal comfort in buildings. EAHE is a
body named Petroleum Conservation Research Association; the motto non-conventional technique that has found applications in residential
of the body was to reduce the country's dependency on oil and gas buildings with air conditioning system, greenhouses, commercial
products and to promote the conservation of Petroleum products [6]. buildings etc. which utilizes the underground soil temperature of the

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Sharma).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2018.03.056
Received 9 June 2017; Received in revised form 15 March 2018; Accepted 17 March 2018
Available online 06 April 2018
1364-0321/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
N. Bordoloi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 89 (2018) 261–280

Nomenclature PVC Polyvinyl Chloride

RES Renewable Energy Sources
ATEHE Air-to-Earth Heat Exchanger SAHD Solar Air Heating Duct
CFC Chloro-fluoro carbon
CFD Computational Fluid Dynamics Units
COP Coefficient of Performance
EAHE Earth Air Heat Exchanger m meter
EER Energy Efficiency Ratio °C Celsius
EPBT Energy Payback time m/s velocity
FFT Fast Fourier Transform
FVM Finite Volume Method Subscripts
HDPE High Density Polyethylene
HETS/HEAHE Horizontal Earth Air Heat Exchanger System l length
HVAC Heating, Ventilation and Air conditioning d diameter
MOE Ministry of Environment r radius
MS Mild Steel i inlet
PID Proportional Integral Derivative o outlet
PV Photovoltaic

earth. soil characteristics have to be determined of any location. The effec-

In ancient times, underground air tunnels were used for cooling and tiveness of EAHE depends on depth of the pipe installed, thermal dif-
heating buildings by the Iranian architects in 3000 BCE [8]. During the fusivity of the soil, length and diameter of the pipe, Ambient
industrial revolution, these natural techniques were faded with time. As Temperature of a certain location, thermal conductivity of the pipe and
the energy reservoir of the world is depleting fast, government of dif- air flow velocity [9,13,15–17]. It is generally seen that the effectiveness
ferent countries are taking initiatives to promote green energy techni- of these systems is quite high as compared to conventional HVAC
ques and EAHE is one such technique. system [18]. Nowadays researchers have been using EAHE of config-
EAHE system depends on the ambient temperature of any location urations to study the performance and to save energy. Results showed
[9] which can be used for both cooling and heating during summer and that EAHE is an energy efficient system that can be used in lieu of our
winter seasons. During winters, the underground soil temperature is prevailing conventional system used for thermal comfort. Some re-
higher than the ambient temperature and vice versa during summers searchers that proved this systems compatibility with conventional
[10]. Researchers found that the underground soil temperature also systems are discussed here.
known as earth's undisturbed temperature remains constant at a depth Sodha et al. [19] has considered the effect of length, radius and
of 2.5–3 m [8]. EAHE uses a network of pipes buried in the ground at mass flow rate to determine the cooling potential of the underground
depth of 2.5–3 m with one end acting as an inlet for the ambient air and air pipe system. The analysis was done for a hot dry composite climate
other as an outlet. Earth is used as heat sink or source. Air enters from of Jodhpur and Delhi. Mihalakakou et al. [20] has predicted the soil
the inlet and continuously flows through the buried pipes. This then and air temperature below the surface considering the heat and
passes through the stable soil temperature. The temperature is either moisture gradient in the soil. Results proposed that difference between
increased or decreased by conduction with underground soil. This is the inlet and outlet temperature as the energy potential of the EAHE
then delivered to the outlet maintaining a temperature difference with system. Ascione et al. [21] has showed that in wet and humid soil
the ambient temperature. having a pipe length of 50 m buried to a depth of 3 m, the best per-
In summers, the ambient temperature is around approximately formance of an EAHE system can be achieved. Lee et al. [22] has used
39–45 °C [11] depending on the location. The hot air flows through the Energy Plus software and created a mathematical model form EAHE. A
buried pipes; the stable temperature of the soil cools down the tem- detailed algorithm was used to calculate the variation in the soil tem-
perature of the air and delivers it to the outlet. The air flowing in the perature variation for each pipe for every time step of the simulation.
building is cool air thus maintaining a lower temperature inside the Thiers et al. [23] laid several pipes in parallel at the same depth. Finite
building than the outside temperature as shown in Fig. 1. volume method with a limited number of meshes was used. Two
In winters, the ambient temperature is approximately 4–9 °C [11]
depending on the location, the same process helps in heating the air
thus maintaining a higher temperature inside the building keeping the
inside environment warmer than the outside. The heat dissipated/
generated by the soil is transferred to the pipes by conduction which
causes the temperature to increases/decrease inside the buried pipes
[7]. For the continuous flow of air through the inlet certain mechanical
devices such as fans, blowers etc. or passive systems are installed to
create adequate pressure difference.
The performance of EAHE depends on the diameter of the pipe,
length of pipe, pipe material, moisture content, soil characteristics, the
temperature difference between earth and ambient air etc. [7,8,12].
The material of the pipe should have high thermal conductivity like
mild steel, PVC pipes, cemented pipes etc. depending on the soil
characteristics [13]. The underground soil temperature is mainly af-
fected by the climatic condition and soil characteristics of a certain
location [14].
In order to determine the undisturbed temperature of the earth the Fig. 1. Working principle of EAHE.

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concentric cylindrical meshes were used for each pipe to study the in- flow at different inlet temperature. The experiment was concluded that
teraction between several parallel pipes laid at the same depth. One at a depth of 3.7 m and length of 34 m, optimum outlet temperature can
year later Tittelein et al. [24] developed a new numerical method for be achieved. Sikarwar et al. [31] made a conjunction of the EAHE
EAHE. It showed that heat flux entering the pipe is functions of the system with the air conditioner to reduce the energy consumption and
temperature of air flowing through the pipe. To find the outlet tem- to improve the COP. Results showed that under extreme summer and
perature, a heat balance equation is applied. The problem faced using winter seasons, a ground coupled condenser is seen feasible with air
the above-mentioned model was that it took a long time to calculate the conditioner. Chlela et al. [32] has made a conjunction of EAHE with
behaviour of the heat exchanger accurately due to the type of mesh heat recovery balanced ventilation system to investigate the energy
required. Bisoniya et al. [18] has examined the EAHE system in dif- consumption and thermal comfort. It was found that the EAHE system
ferent seasons and found that at lower air velocities there is high reduces the energy consumption and control the CO2 emissions and to
temperature drop irrespective of the seasons. The same was validated ensure good thermal comfort. Nowadays, hybrid EAHE has become one
using a simulation model developed on Computational Fluid Dynamics of the prominent technologies to increase the efficiency of the system.
(CFD). Ralegaonkar et al. [25] has compared EAHE system with con- The EAHE are also classified on the basis of pipe layout in the
ventional system and concluded that EAHE system saves energy up to ground and according to the mode of arrangement [9] as shown in
90% as compared to conventional systems in Nagpur (India). Figs. 4 and 5.
Choudhury et al. [26] has used bamboo and a plaster of soil-cement On the basis of pipe layout, the EAHE classified as:
mixture in place of PVC pipes or mild steel pipe. It was seen that it
reduced the humidity by 30–40% and reduced outlet temperature by ▪ Horizontal/straight Loop
30–35%. Thus, all design parameters (pipe material, the diameter of the ▪ Vertical Looped
pipe, length of pipe, soil characteristics, moisture content, the tem- ▪ Slinky/spiral Looped
perature difference between earth and ambient air etc.) contributes to ▪ Pond/Helical Looped
the performance and to save energy.
This paper considers a subjective approach that aims in under- On the basis of mode of arrangement, EAHE is classified as:
standing the advancements of EAHE technology in different aspects
such as design parameter, boundary conditions, surface conditions etc. ▪ One tube system
for providing thermal comfort. In this article substantial literature of ▪ Parallel tube system
the recent years, reviewed and analysed to understand the effect of
parameters on the performance of these systems. This paper also re- One tube system is not appropriate to meet the requirements of an
views different hybrid systems found in the literature to analyse the air conditioning system in a building. This is because the tube is too
efficiency of these systems with respect to the hybrid systems. This large for the use in generation. Parallel tube systems are used as it re-
paper also attempts to feature the significant data collected from the duces the pressure drop and increases the thermal performance of the
literature of the recent years explicitly. Thus, the paper is structured system.
and designed for providing a systematic information about the ad-
vancements of EAHE technology and providing room for the future
researchers and designers for systematic designing and productive in- 2.1. Advantages and disadvantages of EAHE
stallations in the near future.
The EAHE systems have several advantages over the conventional
2. Classification of EAHE system. They are [8]:

The EAHE systems are designed on the basis of three configurations: 1. Air is used as working fluid.
open loop system and closed loop system and Hybrid system [27,28] 2. It consumes less energy as compared to prevailing conventional
Open loop system: The ambient air is passed through the buried systems.
pipes for pre-heating or pre-cooling of air as shown in Fig. 2. Then the 3. The design is simple hence requires less maintenance and low cost.
air passes through a conventional system to cool down or get warm up 4. Pollution is minimized as no refrigerant or compressors are used in
before entering the space. The air is then passed away through the this system.
ventilation. Woodson et al. [29] has used open loop EAHE design with
PVC pipes having a length of 25 m, diameter 125 mm buried at a depth The disadvantages are:
of 1.5 m. The pipes were laid in the serpentine pattern. It was seen the
air drawn from outside reduces temperature by more than 7.5 °C. The
outdoor temperature varied from 25 °C to 43 °C and the soil tempera-
ture of 30.4 °C remained the same at a depth of 1.5 m.
Closed loop system: Closed loop systems are also known as earth
coupled system as shown in Fig. 3. Air sucked from inlet travels through
a loop of pipes buried underground and extracts the heat from the
ground [25]. The ground loops are arranged either vertically or hor-
izontally. The vertical loops are more expensive than the horizontal
loop. Closed loop is efficient than open loop system. Closed loop system
reduces the problem of humidity.
Hybrid systems: The EAHE is coupled with other heating/cooling
devices such as air conditioner, heaters, solar chimney, solar air heaters
etc. These devices improve the comfort and efficiency of the EAHE
systems. Researchers like Jakhar et al. [30] coupled the Earth to air
heat exchanger with a solar air heating duct. The aim was to evaluate
the heating potential of EAHE with or without solar air heating duct.
TRNSYS 17 was used as the simulation tool. Results were validated with
an experimental setup in Ajmer, India. An evaluation was done for inlet Fig. 2. Open loop system.

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technology indirectly [20]. Wilkinson in the 19th century designed a

Barn; in order to cool the barn during summertime, he buried a 500 ft
underground passage [35]. Iranian architects also used underground air
tunnels and wind towers for the passive cooling. For many decades
EAHE system has been used as a conjunction with solar chimneys or
with air conditioning system. EAHE system is probably the most
growing alternative renewable energy in the world. With increasing
demand for energy savings, places like Europe, Germany have grown its
market widely in the recent years [36]. A 10% increase has been seen in
installations in about 30 countries over the last 10 years. Places like
South Algeria where four-fifths of the land is desert which has a dry
desert climate, where during summer maximum temperature rises to
45 °C and during winter temperature lower below 1 °C, the EAHE
system cannot be used all alone [37]. Under this condition, EAHE
system is made a conjunction with air conditioning system.

Fig. 3. Closed loop system. 3.1. Research conducted in different parts of the world

Several researchers around the globe had investigated the perfor-

1. The cost of installation is high.
mance of EAHE using various numerical and computational methods.
2. Condensation occurs in the pipes. The condensed water can be
The parameters for the experiments are tabulated in Tables 1, 2. Fard
pumped out by using a small submersible pump.
et al. [38] in Northeast of Iran made a system that comprises of two
3. Convection occurs in the pipes; no uniform temperature is achieved.
parallel horizontal pipes. The aim of the project was to evaluate the
4. As the refrigerant used is air, the growth of micro-organisms can
effect of parameters such as air velocity, pipe length, pipe material,
become one of the causes to use ventilating system coupled to the
burial depth. The simulations were based on factorial design. Result
system. This causes a decrease in quality of air.
shows that the average relative humidity was 67% with an average
temperature of 3.8 °C (heating mode) and average relative humidity is
Thus, installation of EAHE with appropriate design parameters can
14% with average temperature was 36.5 °C (cooling mode). Also, the
be a perfect alternative to the conventional systems.
soil temperature, length of the pipe increases with increase in depth for
both heating and cooling mode. It was also observed that the differ-
3. Literature review ential temperature of the galvanised pipe is more than PVC because the
heat transfer coefficient of the galvanised pipe is more than PVC. There
The most commonly used systems to obtain comfort in residential is no significant effect seen in case of the material of pipe as pipe ma-
buildings, offices, etc. is the conventional Air conditioning system. The terial does not vary the temperature variation (Table 3).
working principle of air conditioning system is to condition the air, Ozegener et al. [8] has made an experimental setup with ambient
transport it and introduce it to conditioned space. Air conditioning temperature 18.67 °C and relative humidity 48.16%. It was found that
system uses a large amount of energy and also causing diminution of the average temperature for greenhouse was 21.5 °C and relative hu-
the ozone layer due to the emission of CFCs. The Kyoto Protocol given midity 40%. Results showed that average heating capacity obtained
by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change from the setup was 7.67 kW. Thus, concluded that an effective use of
(UNFCCC) emphasizes on the reduction the greenhouse gases emission EAHE with a suitable technology is beneficial to the climate of Turkey.
[33,34]. Passive techniques are introduced in HVAC installations in Mongkon et al. [33] considered three seasons; winter, summer and
order to reduce the consumption of energy. One such passive technique monsoon in Chiang Mai for HETS cooling in the tropical climate of
is EAHE that uses earth as the heat sink. Air is the transfer medium for Thailand. The cooling performance and condensation in pipes were
summer cooling and winter heating. When air flows through the pipes evaluated. The experiment was concluded with a series of pipes placed
heat exchange between air and earth takes place. This concludes that in a serpentine manner considering fully developed Turbulent Flow as
the temperature at the outlet is higher/lower than the ambient tem- shown in Fig. 6. The temperature difference between inlet and outlet is
perature [8]. studied by regression analysis. A high temperature difference during
Many ancient Greeks, Persians and Iranian Architects have used this summer season was observed. In condensation analysis, it was found

Fig. 4. Horizontal loop and vertical loop system.

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Fig. 5. Parallel tube and one tube system.

that saturated temperature decreases due to the dew point temperature. The result shows that with increase in depth there was a decrease in
The results also indicate that maximum COP was obtained during temperature amplitude variation as the temperature remains constant
summers in comparison with other two seasons. at 3 m depth. Thus, this configuration causes a decrease of 8 °C in
Goswami et al. [39] has used corrugated plastic pipe for his ex- summers and increase by 2 °C in winters.
perimental setup conducted in Florida. The experiment was conducted Su et al. [42] has developed a computational 1D implicit transient
considering the soil having high moisture content. The operating time convection-diffusion model for air temperature and humidity. The mass
for the EAHE system was 8–12 h/day. A heat pump circulates the air at transfer coefficient is large hd = 1–5 × 10−4 kg/m2 s. On studying the
the outlet. It was observed that if air was spread uniformly throughout results, it was found that the difference of outer temperature and hu-
the tunnel COP was improved by 8%. The open loop tunnel used midity between 2 simulations is very small.
14 kWh of electricity during cooling period and 52 kWh during the Benhammou et al. [43] has studied the thermal performance in the
heating period. Thus, indicate that the EAHE consumes less energy than steady-state and transient condition in Algerian Sahara during July. The
conventional AC. The author also recommends the EAHE for agri- experimental setup is shown in Fig. 7. A new term DF was introduced
cultural buildings. It was also seen that the payback period was ap- by the author which is a function of the length of the buried pipe. The
proximately 20 years. Thus, the use of a multi-pipe system that instead results indicate that as the length increases, DF decreases thus tem-
of using single pipe is more cost-effective. perature at the outlet increases. The study states that the outlet tem-
Vaz et al. [40] has considered an experimental and numerical si- perature is a function of the diameter of the buried pipe. Again, as the
mulation to reduce the consumption of conventional energy. The ex- length is increased, the mean efficiency also increases but COP is de-
periment was set up in Viamas, Brazil. The numerical solution was creased. Also on studying the influence of pipe diameter, as the pipe
solved based on FVM and turbulence was addressed with Reynolds diameter increases, COP decreases. This increase in pipe diameter re-
stress model. The computational modelling was done using GAMBIT duces the pressure losses, in turn, increases the thermal potential but
and FLUENT. The numerical solutions were validated against experi- the cooling potential was reduced resulting in a decrease of COP. DF is
mental results. The temperature variation of three ducts show that proportional to the pipe diameter. Thus, EAHE with larger pipe dia-
while moving along the length, the magnitude of air temperature in the meter has more heat transfer than smaller diameter pipes.table
same soil temperature decreases. There was a difference of 15% with Yang et al. [44] predicted the performance EAHE subjected to
the numerical model proposed during validation. Also, it was found that harmonic thermal environments. The experiment was conducted in
if the depth is more than 2 m, the operating potential for heating and Changqing, China considering the cylindrical coordinate system. Total
cooling was higher by than 8 °C and 4 °C respectively. time for the numerical simulation was t = 1000 s. It was found that
Bojic et al. [35] has investigated the performance of ATEHE for with an increase in depth the outlet temperature decreases. It was ob-
summer and winter season in Athens, Greece. Space was heated by served that the annual fluctuating amplitude decreases with depth and
using a heater during winters and cooled by using an air conditioning attains a certain value when depth exceeds 7 m. Results show that the
system during summers. At ambient temperature of 20 °C result in- outlet temperature initially decreases then increases with increase in
dicates that with an increase in the length of pipe, the energy use ratio radius. The cooling and heating capacity are a function of outlet tem-
for building increases. It was also observed that the energy use ratio in perature and air flow rate. As the flow rate increases the cooling/
summer days was higher than winters. In summers the expenditure for heating capacity increases.
energy was 11 d/MJ s with 10 m long pipe and lowest was 7 d/MJ s on Santamouris et al. [45] performed a parametric analysis performed
the application of 2 pipes for ATEHE. The author suggests that when the on glass greenhouse of 1000 m2 area having 4 buried pipes in Athens,
length of pipe L < 17 m it is better to use 4 pipes instead of 2, thus Greece. TRNSYS software was used simulation tool. A relationship be-
making the ATEHE cheaper. The temperature at the outlet was found 3 tween change in pipe length and the outlet temperature was observed.
times higher in summer than winters. This clearly shows that the The results show that the outlet temperature increases more during July
ATEHE is more energy saving and cheaper in summers than winters. and August but the greenhouse temperature was higher during August
Mihalakakou et al. [20] has predicted the thermal performance in- due to the time lag of the underground temperature at different depths.
side the tube. The model was developed within TRNSYS. The influence Also, due to high convective heat transfer coefficient, an increase in the
of temperature due to a ground surface temperature of the pipe was pipe radius results in high indoor temperature and high outlet tem-
surveyed. The proposed model was validated against the experimental perature. It was observed that the indoor temperature increases with
data and was predicted temperature distribution and the temperature of increase in depth of the pipe but the cooling capacity increases with
the circulated air contributes to the performance of EAHE. increase in depth. The indoor temperature also increases with increase
Silva et al. [41] has modelled a computational model to predict the in velocity of air. Thus, due to increase in mass flow rate, thus the outlet
thermal behaviour of EAHE. The results were checked for every time temperature increases.
step for 2 years. The soil average temperature considered was 29.1 °C Yassine et al. [46] coupled EAHE with a mechanical ventilation
for the entire computation simulation and the temperature variations system for thermal comfort of a typical house conducted in Lebanon.
were checked at every point from 1 to 5 m and were plotted at an outlet. The study aimed at using topical materials such as and Hempcrete and

265
 Table 1
Summary of the analytical results held around the world.
Author Place/Year Season Material Length of Diameter of Depth of Temperature range Velocity range Temperature rise/ Variable Others
pipe [m] pipe[m] pipe [m] [°C] [m/s] fall [°C]
N. Bordoloi et al.

Mihalakakou et al. [20] 1994 Summer Plastic 14.8 0.15 1.1 – 10.5 17–33.5 Burial Depth –
Santamouris et al. [45] Athens, Greece, – – 50 0.2 1.5 37–42.3 8 23–36 Diameter of Pipe –
1995
Bojic et al. [35] Athens, Greece, Winter PVC 50 0.15 2.4 8 – 20 Length of pipe –
1996 Summer 16 –
Krarti and Kreider [75] 1995 – – 80 0.20 1.5 19 3.5 – Diameter, velocity of Only mathematical
pipe formulation
Kabashnikov et al. [79] 2000 – – – – – – – – Spacing between the Mathematical model
pipe
Darkwa et al. [80] China, 2010 Summer 50 0.4 1.5–3 – 12 Temperature –
Su et al. [42] 2012 – – 900 – – 19 – 17.6 Error analysis –
Silva et al. [41] 2013 Winter PVC 25.77 0.11 1.0–5.0 – – 2 Burial Depth Increase
Summer 8 Decrease
Vaz et al. [57] Viamas, Brazil, 2014 Summer PVC A:0.11 – 1.6 18.8 – 12 Burial Depth –
Winter B: 0.11 0.6 – –
C: 0.10 0.5 – –
Ahmed et al. [54] Queensland, – PVC 8 0.021 – 21.01 3.4 24.61 Configuration VEPC
Australia, 2014 24.58 Configuration HEPC
23.05 Configuration VEPC
23.85 Configuration HEPC
Ariffin et al. [59] Malaysia, 2014 Summer PVC 30 0.076 1 36.46 0.5 30.345 Material of pipe –
PE 30.231 Material of pipe –
St 30.248 Material of pipe –
Cu 30.25 Material of pipe –

266
Benhammou et al. [61] 2014 Summer PVC – – 2 45 – 44.991 Crossectional area –
44.46 Height of tower –
Xamána et al. [63] Mexico, 2014 Winter – 5 0.15 10 – – 0.5 Configuration Mexico City
5.8 Configuration Merida City
3.3 Configuration Juarez City
Nur et al. [67] Malaysia, 2014 – – – – – 21.9–34.8 – 27.2–30.5 Burial Depth –
Gan et al. [50] UK, 2015 – HDPE – 0.2 1.5 10 2 17.6 – –
Xaman et al. [51] Mexico, 2015 Winter – – – 10 – – 6.3 [Re = 100] Juarez City
12.5 [Re = 100] Merida City
10.2 [Re = 100] Mexico City
Summer – – – – 8.8 [Re = 100] Juarez City
10.2 [Re = 100] Merida City
6.3 [Re = 100] Mexico City
Rodriguez et al. [53] Viamao, Brazil 2015 – PVC 26 – – – – – – –
Niu et al. [68] USA, 2015 – St 57 0.45 3 30 – 16 Soil Temperature –
Niu et al. [69] USA, 2015 – – 57 0.45 3 26–34 – 15 Surface temperature –
13 Diameter of Pipe –
Serageldin et al. [47] 2016 Winter St and Cu 5.5 0.0508 2 14.7 1.0–3.9 18.7 Diameter of Pipe –
19.9 Length of pipe –
19.2 Velocity of pipe –
PVC 19.7 Material of Pipe –
St 19.88 Material of Pipe –
Cu 19.8 Material of Pipe –
(continued on next page)
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 89 (2018) 261–280
N. Bordoloi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 89 (2018) 261–280

strawboard. For controlling the amount of ventilation air the author

used PID (Proportional Integral derivation). The house was divided into
2 thermal zones: Living Zone and Bedroom Zone. As recommended by

energy demand
ASHRAE, the lower limit of air flow rate was 7.5 ACH (air change/hour)
and the upper limit flow rate was 25 ACH. During occupancy, PID

decrease
Others

controller was activated in winters where Troom < Twinter, so Tout of

EAHE can moderate indoor temperature as Tout > Troom. Again, the
–
–
–

–
controller was activated during summers when Troom > Tsummer so that
Pressure losses and outer temperature can moderate indoor temperature. The energy and
Diameter of Pipe
Velocity of pipe

Length of pipe

mass balance equation was solved to predict the indoor air temperature
Depth of pipe
Length of pipe

for each zone. The program was developed using MATLAB and was
Variable

Air flow

validated against TRNSYS (2009). It was observed that there was a

difference of 4% between space temperatures obtained numerically and
–
–

space temperature predicted by TRNSYS.

Serageldin et al. [47] conducted an experiment for Egyptian
Temperature rise/

weather condition where the soil temperature distribution was studied.

An unsteady, 1D quasi-mathematical model was developed for energy
equation using MATLAB. A CFD analysis was done to estimate the air
fall [°C]

and soil temperature. The mathematical and simulation results were

35.4
30.5

19.5

validated against experimental results. Also, a mathematical model was

29

7
–
–

developed to predict the temperature profile along the length and time.
Velocity range

An explicit finite difference method was used to solve the governing

equations. The result shows that the inlet temperature is affected by the
[m/s]

ambient temperature and outlet temperature. Thus, the soil tempera-

1.5

ture increases with increase in the outlet temperature. Also as the pipe
1
–

length was increased, the temperature inside the pipe along the length
Temperature range

increases but decreases at the outlet due to heat losses to the sur-
rounding. The CFD simulations indicate that the temperature increases
with depth during winters and vice versa. Also, a parametric study was
conducted to study the design parameters considered in the simulation.
The results of the study show that as the pipe diameter was increased
[°C]

40

40
46
–

the air temperature decreases, thus decreasing the convection heat

transfer. The effect of outlet temperature variation for 3 different pipe
pipe [m]
Depth of

materials was also considered. It showed that the outlet temperatures

2.2–3.2

for all 3 pipe materials were similar. Thus, the pipe material has less
effect on the performance of EAHE.
7

5
–

Barakat et al. [48] has studied the application of EAHE on the inlet
of a gas turbine as shown in Fig. 8. The thermal performance of EAHE a
Diameter of

transient 1D model was developed using MATLAB. A mathematical

pipe[m]

model was validated against an experimental study conducted in Da-

0.15
0.80
0.05
0.3

0.3

mietta Power Plant, North Carolina. Results showed that the outlet
temperature decreases with the decrease in length. Thus, longer pipe
length provides more heat exchange. It was also seen that as the pipe
Length of
pipe [m]

diameter and velocity increases the outlet temperature also increases

24.7

and decreases respectively. The fuel consumption was evaluated which

50

72
45
76

showed a drop of 4.4% on using EAHE as an inlet to the gas turbine.

Material

Thus, longer tube, smaller diameter, placed deep and low inlet air ve-
locity give lower outlet temperature using EAHE increases the power
PVC
PVC

output.
–

Uddin et al. [49] investigated the performance of EAHE to maintain

Summer

Summer
Summer
Season

Winter

thermal comfort in Bangladesh. Life cycle energy and GHG emission

analysis was carried out using a cradle to grave assessment. The ex-
–

periment was conducted in an office for 2 seasons, winter (11 °C, 91%
RH) and summer (34 °C, 77% RH) with an AC of 1 TR was already
Marrakech, 2016

present in the room. A small fan of 30 W was placed to ensure the flow
Algeria, 2016
Place/Year

Italy, 2016

of air through the coil. For the cradle to grave analysis 4 stages were
considered. Stage I: extraction of raw material, Stage II: manufacturing
2016

2017

of heat exchanger material [PVC and MS]. Stage III: installation and use
and Stage IV: disposal at the end of life. The thermal performance was
estimated for both the seasons and results showed that the outlet
Belatrache et al. [77]

Wojtkowiak [83]
Table 1 (continued)

Khabbaz et al. [76]

Ascione et al. [85]
Barakat et al. [48]

temperature was around 23–24 °C for both seasons. But the outlet hu-
Amanowicz and

midity during winters was 45–50% and during summers RH was

30–70%. In life cycle assessment, the total life-cycle energy for
Author

PVC = 307 MJ and for MS = 96.4 MJ. Thus, MS pipe can be used as
pipe material from a life cycle energy point of view as MS generated
lesser energy than PVC. In the GHG analysis was it was observed that

267
 Table 2
Summary of the experimental results held around the world.
Author Place/Year Season Material Length of Diameter of Depth of Temperature Velocity Temperature Variable Others COP
pipe [m] pipe [m] pipe [m] range [°C] range [m/s] variation [°C]
N. Bordoloi et al.

Goswami et al. Florida, 1993 – – 30.48 0.3048 3.6576 23.89–33.05 – 26.67–28.33 Inlet Temperature – 5.8
[39]
Serres et al. [82] France, 1996 Summer – – – 1.7 – – – – Sensitivity factor –
Winter – analysis
Popiel et al. [74] Poznan, 2001 Summer – – – – – – 15–17 Ground Parking Lawn –
Winter 4 Temperature –
Li et al. [73] Harbin, China, Summer HDPE – 0.0325 47.6 – – 0.75 Ground – –
2006 Temperature
Derbel and Sfax, Tunisia, – PVC 30 0.05 4–6 19–23 6 4–10 Depth of pipe – –
Kanoun [70] 2006
Darkwa et al. [80] China, 2010 Summer 50 0.4 1.5–3 – 12 Temperature – 3.53
Winter – – 10 – 3.2
Ford et al. [38] North east of Iran, Winter PVC and 20 – 4 35–43 0.4–30 – Material of Pipe – 3.5
2011 Summer galvanised mild Soil Temperature – 5.5
steel
Vaz et al. [40] Viamas, Brazil, Summer PVC Duct A: 0.11 – 2 30 – 25 – – –
2011 Winter – Duct B: 0.11 – 2 12.8 – 19 – – –
– – Duct C: 0.10 – 5 – – – – – –
Ozegener et al. [8] Turkey, 2011 – – 47 – 3 18.67 – 21.5 – greenhouse –
temperature
Mongkon et al. Thailand, 2013 Winter Iron 38.5 0.08 1 24.5 9 20.88 – – 2.04
[33] Summer 28.8 21.37 – – 3.56
Monsoon 28.6 26.8 – – 0.77
Benhammou et al. Algerian Sahara, Summer PVC 23.42 0.10–0.30 – 29 2.0–5.0 22.3–23 Diameter of pipe – 0.98–0.67

268
[61] 2013 24 Length of pipe
– – – 27.8 Velocity of pipe – –
Yassine et al. [46] Lebanon, 2013 summer – – – – 28 – 26.88 Mass flow rate – –
winter – – – – 16 – 16.64 – –
Hepbasli et al. Turkey, 2013 Gavanised 47 0.56 – – – – – Exergy analysis
[81]
Chiesa et al. [55] Imola, Italy, 2014 Summer PE 2240 0.25 – – – – – – 19.7
Nur et al. [56] Malaysia, 2014 – – – – – – – 21.5–34.1 Soil type – –
Vaz et al. [57] Viamas, Brazil, Summer PVC A:0.11 – 1.6 18.8 – 12 Burial Depth – –
2014 Winter B: 0.11 0.6 – – – –
C: 0.10 0.5 – – – –
Yu et al. [58] Omaha, USA Winter Culvert Steel 57 0.45 3 12.78 – 21–24 Configuration Passive –
2014 – 20–27.5 Configuration Active –
Hatraf et al. [60] 2014 Summer PVC 60 0.11 – – – – Mass flow rate – –
Li et al. [65] 2014 – Culvert steel 57 0.45 3 – – 14.6 Burial Depth – –
Yang et al. [44] Changqing, – – – – 20 0.5 1.4 Diameter of pipe small change –
China, 2015 15 Length of pipe diameter from 0.05 –
– 13 Mass flow rate to 1 m –
Mohamed et al. Marrakech, 2015 Winter PVC 72 0.15 2.2–3.2 4.2–11 – 16.7–21.2 Time – –
[52] Summer 44.6 24.8 Time – –
Jassim et al. [72] Baghdad, Iraq, Summer – – – – – – 25.3–28.2 Burial Depth 3.43–5.24
2015
(continued on next page)
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 89 (2018) 261–280
N. Bordoloi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 89 (2018) 261–280

Table 3
Thermo-physical properties of materials used.
COP

– Material Density Specific heat Thermal

–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
(kg/m3) capacity conductivity
(J/kg K) (W/m K)

PVC [76] 1380 900 0.161

La Rochella
Coppera 8933 385 401

decrease
Aluminiuma 2702 903 237
Others

Nancy

Nice Galvanised Iron [GI] [75] – – –

Steela [AISI304] 7900 477 14.9
–

–
–
–

–
Galvanised steel [76] – – –
Exergy Analysis Mild Steel [MS]a
Velocity of pipe

7854 434 60.5

Depth of pipe
Configuration
Configuration
Configuration

Galvanised mild steel [40] – – –

Burial Depth

Polyethylene [PE]b – 2000 0.45

Variable

High density Polyethylene 940 2000 0.45

Time
Time

(HDPE)b
Irona
–

7870 447 80.2

Plastic [76] – – –
Culvert steel [60,67] – – –
– – –
variation [°C]

Reinforced concrete [74]

Temperature

Bamboo + Cement Plaster – – 3.14

[27]
Aira
23–24

1.225 1006 0.024

15.8
21.3
20.5

Watera 1000 4190 0.55

22

7
–

a
Thermo-physical properties of Materials at 300 K [77].
range [m/s]

b
Thermo-physical properties of Material at 296 K.
Velocity

1–3.9

1
–

–
Temperature
range [°C]

14.7

11
34

10
46
5
8
–

–
pipe [m]
Depth of

2.43884
2

5
–

–
Diameter of
pipe [m]

Fig. 6. Schematic diagram of EAHE coupled with Greenhouse [33].

0.0508

0.0381

0.80
–

–
Length of
pipe [m]

14.3256
5.5

45
–

–
Material

PVC

PVC

PVC
–

–
Summer

Summer
summer
Season

Winter

Winter

Winter

Fig. 7. Schematic diagram for EAHE coupled to a building [43].

Bangladesh, 2016

Algeria, 2016

Turkey, 2017
France, 2016
Place/Year

the magnitude of emission in MS is lower than PVC. Also, the CO2

emission for PVC and MS was 86 kg and 20 kg respectively. Thus, MS is
2016

preferred over PVC for the cases. As specified before 1 TR of AC con-

sumes 9.6 kWh of energy per day. When EAHE is coupled to AC it saves
Table 2 (continued)

Ozgener et al. [84]

up to 288 kWh per month during both seasons. Thus, using AC with
Uddin et al. [49]

Chela et al. [32]

Belatrache et al.
Serageldin et al.

EAHE saves more energy than single AC.

Gan et al. [50] has formulated a model in FORTRAN to study the
[47]

[77]
Author

thermal performance of EAHE. To study the heat and moisture transfer

3D mass and energy equation, 2 interfaces for the exchange were

269
N. Bordoloi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 89 (2018) 261–280

Fig. 8. Schematic diagram of EAHE installed in gas turbine plant [48].

considered. The simulation of the present study was run on FLUENT for
2 modes continuous and intermittent modes. In continuous mode, the
heat is transferred from the soil to air at any given time. In intermittent
mode, this occurs for a specific time period when the air is preheated Fig. 9. Schematic diagram of VEAHE and HEAHE [54].
only then heat transfer takes place. Simulations were done at different
lengths (10–40 m). There was a rise in temperature from 5 to 6.6 °C for value. Installation 5 shows the superior performance in heating and
ambient air. It was seen that the heat transfer rate decreases day by day cooling. Thus, by increasing the no of ducts and reducing the duct
with a decrease in soil temperature. Thus, with the increase in length diameter constant air volume fraction can be maintained.
rate of heat transfer and temperature rise decreases but overall heat Ahmed et al. [54] has investigated the thermal potential of EAHE by
gain increases. Also, the author found that the thermal and moisture conducting an experiment in Rockhampton, Australia. Using two
interaction between heat exchanger atmosphere and soil has a sig- shipping containers, one connected with Vertical EAHE [VEAHE] and
nificant effect on the rate of heat transfer. other with horizontal EAHE [HEAHE] as shown in Fig. 9. Fans were
Xaman et al. [51] aims to study the transient thermal behaviour of installed to suck the air inside the pipe inlet. 20 PVC corrugated pipes
EAHE in 3 cities of Mexico. A mathematical model was formulated for each configuration. To increase the cooling effect and to cover the
considering conduction heat transfer in the soil, between pipe and soil underground pipes small trees were planted. The schematic diagram of
and flow is laminar in the pipe. The governing equations were solved the setup is given in Fig. 9. A CFD model was formulated considering
using finite volume method. The convective terms were discritised by the flow inside the corrugated pipe to be turbulent. The discretization
the hybrid scheme and diffusive terms were discritised by central dif- was done using PRESTO scheme. The soil temperature analysis was
ference scheme for the mathematical model. For the analysis 3 cities of done for different depths and showed that on a summer day the soil
Mexico are considered (Juarez City, Mexico City and Merida) and four temperature increases with the decrease in depth. For the measure of
Reynolds number are considered (100, 500, 1000 and 1500). It was the performance of HEAHE, the VEAHE was turned off and vice versa.
concluded that the EAHE has a high heating potential for all the Rey- Simulation results show the average room temperature for HEAHE was
nolds number in the cities, Juarez and Merida, as the cities exhibit very slightly larger than VEAHE. Thus, concluded that VEAHE provides more
low temperature during winters. Whereas, EAHE system for Mexico reduction in temperature drop than the HEAHE. So VEAHE is preferable
shows a good heating as well as the cooling potential for only Reynolds to use for Australian weather.
number value at 100. Chiesa et al. [55] aim of the study the results of EAHE in a school
Mohamed et al. [52] has investigated the thermal performance of building of Imola, Italy during winter and summer seasons. A solar wall
EAHE in Marrakech. The EAHE consist of 3 parallel pipes each is con- air collector made of Polyethylene was connected to the EAHE. The
nected with a fan of 44–90 W. The spacing between the pipes was 14 cm energy performance of EAHE system was evaluated by using GAEA
and the vertical parts of the pipe were insulated with 4 cm thick poly- software (Graphische Auslegung von Erdwärme Austauschern). The
styrene. During the operation, only one pipe was monitored and fans of effectiveness of EAHE was found by using Parson and Koehler's ex-
non-monitored pipes were kept off. A numerical model was developed pression. The above expression was used to validate the collected data.
using TRNSYS, which was validated against the data obtained from the A psychometric analysis was performed to predict the inlet, outlet
experimental setup. Results were estimated by taking time as a variable. temperature and relative and absolute humidity. It was seen that during
During the summer season, the temperature drop was nearly 19.8 °C summer there was a significant decrease in the temperature with in-
which was more than the winter season. Thus, EAHE system is more crease in the relative humidity. The absolute humidity increases when
efficient during the summer season. the dew point temperature is reached in the tubes. During winters,
Rodrigues et al. [53] employed constructional design for EAHE to there was a remarkable increase in temperature, so outlet air requires
obtain the highest thermal potential. The numerical simulation was treatment to reach it to indoor conditions. An energy balance was
performed using Ansys FLUENT. The computational domains were de- considered to calculate the rate of heat transfer. The COP of the EAHE
veloped in FLUENT and discretized in Gambit. The numerical simula- was also calculated by considering the pressure loss of the system. The
tion was done as a function of time. The validation was done against an monitored results were compared with the results already present in the
experimental setup constructed in 2007. The constructional design was literature. It was found that EAHE is an effective system which depends
created by Adrian Bejan in 1997. In this experiment, 5 different con- on the design parameters.
figurations of EAHE were evaluated. This design is applied by means of Nur et al. [56] has studied the capacity of Malaysian soil for the
volume fraction parameters to find the optimal installation. For in- application of EAHE. This research aims to predict the soil temperature
stallation I, the high thermal potential was reached during December. for different soil surface condition. The experiment was set up at
In Installation 2, a stable behaviour of thermal potential was seen. In Gombak campus of International Islamic University, Malaysia. Three
this installation, the horizontal spacing of pipe was increased so the different soil surface conditions were considered. The soil condition
thermal potential was also increased. In installation 3, the concept of were: Bare and short grass, Sheltered by layers of recycled timber
volume fraction was considered. The highest value of thermal potential palette and Insulated layers of used tyres. A parametric analysis esti-
was seen in May, June, July, October, November and December. There mates the soil temperature at an optimum depth was done to find the
was no significant change in thermal potential seen during January and appropriate soil surface condition. The simulation for the present study
February. In installation 4, Thermal potential has an intermediate was conducted in Energy Plus software. The soil temperature was

270
N. Bordoloi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 89 (2018) 261–280

investigated and it was observed that soil temperature ranges between

21.5 and 34.1 °C. For soil shaded with timber palette and insulated with
used tyres had the coolest soil temperature of all three types. On run-
ning the simulation for all 3-soil surface condition by considering the
solar radiation, soil shaded with timber palette and insulated with used
tyres shows best results. Thus, low soil temperature gives better heat
exchange and more cooling temperature. Hence the EAHE cooling is
feasible in Malaysia climate.
Vaz et al. [57] investigated the transient behaviour of the tem-
perature fields in an experimental set up known as Casa Ventura.
Temperature and humidity were also monitored for soil, air and water.
This research involves the fluid and heat flow. The thermal properties
of Udult soil having a density of 1800 kg/m3 was studied. The variation
of soil temperature was investigated at different depths. Results show Fig. 10. Schematic diagram of EAHE coupled to wind tunnel [61].
that the temperature increases with increase in depth.
Yu et al. [58] studied coupled earth tube and solar chimney in
better temperature difference.
Omaha, USA. Three experimental tests were conducted in a series
Hatraf et al. [60] studied the soil ground temperature profile to
(passive, active and passive). In this experiment analysis determination
estimate the depth of the pipe. The physical characteristics of the soil
of indoor air condition, soil temperature and cooling capacity were
were studied and a mathematical model was formulated. A comparison
carried out. The design for cooling load was done using software TRACE
was made between the simulated and experimental results by con-
700. This hybrid system was constructed to provide cooling and ven-
sidering different flow rates at 100, 150 and 200 m3/s. The air flow
tilation for solar energy research test facility. The experiment mon-
affects the performance. The Nusselt number increases with the in-
itored both natural (Passive) and forced cooling modes. During the
crease in Reynolds number. Thus, the soil properties have a large im-
passive cooling modes, the air flow rate varied from 0 to 500 m3/h.
pact on the performance. The depth of the pipe depends on the diffu-
Thus, a solar collector coupled with the solar chimney is capable to
sivity of the pipe.
provide sufficient cooling force for a coupled geothermal system. For
Benhammou et al. [61] made an analytical design model to in-
the forced cooling modes, the air flow rate was constant with a value of
vestigate the design parameters that influence the performance of
2750 m3/h. For the thermal comfort analysis Predicted Mean Vote
EAHE. The outlet of the EAHE is placed inside the building and the inlet
(PMV) and Predicted Percent of Dissatisfied people (PPD) was eval-
is connected to a wind tower considering that the wind direction was
uated. The result shows that the indoor air condition under passive air
unidirectional. The schematic diagram of the setup is given in Fig. 10. A
flow condition was more congenial than forced air flow condition. For
mathematical model was developed for the thermal analysis of EAHE.
the underground soil temperature analysis, the temperature profile of
The model was validated against the experimental data collected by
the soil at different depth was studied and was observed that during the
Dhaliwal and Goswami [62]. The soil temperature of the burial depth
forced air flow condition the soil temperature increases regardless of
was 18.89 °C. The variation of the air velocity inside the pipe was
the depth. Thus, the indoor condition was more stable for passive
studied and results show that with the increase in the pipe diameter
cooling modes than active cooling modes.
there is an increase in the air velocity. When diameter was increased
Ariffin et al. [59] predicted the appropriate pipe materials to ob-
the air velocity was increased, the air velocity decreases as the length of
serve the optimum air temperature for achieving thermal comfort. The
the pipe increases. The influence of wind tower cross-sectional area is
study uses Energy Plus for an environmental simulation program. The
also discussed. When the cross section increased by a very small dif-
pipe materials considered for the study were: Polyethylene (PE), PVC
ference there was a change of 0.009 °C in temperature. Again, when the
(polyvinyl chloride), Steel, clay, concrete and Copper. The performance
tower height was increased, air velocity was increased and the tem-
of three pipe materials system were studied in three modes such as
perature was decreased. Thus, the cross-section has no effect on the
single pipe material, hybrid pipes and insulated hybrid pipes system.
performance of the system. The cooling effect of the system was also
The study uses 3 polyethylene pipes buried at different depths. Using
evaluated. Results show that the air temperature is lower for the system
Energy Plus software a parametric study was carried out for 6 different
coupled with wind tower in comparison with the air temperature of a
pipe material; PVC (polyvinyl chloride), PE (polyethylene), steel, clay,
wind tower on a wet surface. This comparison was done considering a
concrete and copper. In the study, four types of test were conducted
similar work done by Bouchahm et al.
which are stated as follows. Test 1: primary test, Test 2: simulation of an
Xamána et al. [63] has predicted the thermal performance of EAHE
individual material, Test 3: hybrid material, Test 4: hybrid material and
for the 3 cities of Mexico. The effect of thermal insulation at the outlet
insulation (Simulation of a combination of 2 materials and insulation).
was investigated. This study considers two configurations of the EAHE
Test 1 was performed to standardise the factors for the 3 simulations.
system such as EAHE without insulation and EAHE with thermal in-
Test 2: the 6 different pipe materials were evaluated. The pipe diameter
sulation (polystyrene) at the outlet. The schematic diagram of the setup
of 50 mm was not available in Malaysian market for the pipe material
is given in Fig. 11. The results were obtained for Re = 1500 for 3 cities
clay and concrete so these were eliminated from the study. The result
of Mexico (México City, Mérida and Cd. Juarez) with soil condition of
shows that the PE (polyethylene) has the maximal temperature reduc-
silt, clay and sand soil. Thus, showed on adding insulation to EAHE
tion of 6.23 °C in comparison to other three. Test 3: The simulation was
system, EAHE for México and Mérida city was profitable during the
run for 2 pipes one inside the other. Results indicated that combination
summer season and for Cd. Juarez city the thermal insulation was
of metal and non-metal shows better reduction of temperature. Test 4:
useful during the winter season.
In this test 2 types of simulation were done 4A: hybrid system + water
Carlucci et al. [64] considered an EAHE coupled with HVAC system
and 4B: Hybrid system + Rockwool insulation were evaluated. Results
and coupled the system to estimate the thermal potential of the system.
show that the best water-hybrid system is the combination of Steel and
The pipes were laid on an L-shaped pattern. The selection of soil has
PE (ST+PE). The metal+ non-metal combination shows better results
also been monitored. To investigate the temperature profiles many
but non-metal + non-metal can also be an alternative. Thus, PE + PE
sensors were installed at different depths. For the installation of EAHE,
pipe is approved for the selection due to its more durability and cheaper
the first phase is the excavation up to a depth of 0.3 m. The pipe bed
qualities. Simulation results of the 4B show, the temperature reduction
was filled with FSC soil. The EAHE consist of 3 pipes that are connected
ranges between 6.03 and 6.23 °C. Thus, this combination also provides

271
N. Bordoloi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 89 (2018) 261–280

the efficiency but also the sustainability of EAHE system and has lower
emission in comparison to conventional systems.
Nur et al. [67] investigated the soil temperature at a different depth
up to 5 m to estimate the potential of EAHE in Malaysia. The site lo-
cation for the experiment was International Islamic University campus
in Malaysia which was generally exposed to solar radiation. The soil
type is sandy and covered with short grass. The study was carried out in
2 phases: in the first phase temperature measured up to 5 m and other
the second phase focuses more on a temperature at shallow depths. It
was seen that there was a little change in temperature for shallow
depths. The results indicate that on the application of EAHE in a
building is possible only if the air temperature increases beyond 34 °C.
Also, the optimum temperature for the undisturbed soil temperature
was at a depth of 1 m.
Niu et al. [68] used the transient control volume method to study
2D heat transfer mechanism. The computational domain was divided
Fig. 11. Schematic of EAHE with thermal insulation [63]. into control units and the thermal balance was applied. A self-recovery
temperature analysis was done using continuous and intermittent
modes. The data was validated against an experimental set up already
to the inside of the tower and other end was connected to conveyor box.
present in Omaha, USA. The measurements were done to record the
A planned monitoring system was also installed to monitor the results
cooling capacity of the system. The simulations were done using MA-
whether the non-zero objective is reached or not. In this study only the
TLAB 8. Results indicate that the outlet temperature increases when soil
systems were installed, the results were not monitored. Three types of
air temperature was increased. It was observed that there was a good
soil have been used to cover the pipes: scoriaceous lava, a mixture of
agreement with the experimental results during validation. It was ob-
fine sand and clay and topsoil.
served that the soil temperature near the tube fluctuated more the far
Li et al. [65] studied a Hybrid EAHE coupled with solar chimney.
one. Thus, the temperature difference between soil and air is higher
The schematic diagram for the experimental set up is shown in Fig. 12.
than the outlet. To recover the lost energy, night time is the time for
The solar collector is used to connect the solar chimney to the building.
recovery. Two modes were considered to analyse the recovery analysis:
The system consists of an EAHE pipe with one end exposed to the
continuous modes and intermittent mode. In intermittent mode, the soil
outside and the other end to inner side. The experimental setup was
temperature was recovered during non-working time. The recovery
made on a testing facility of the University of Nebraska. The solar
ability decreases with time and distance. In continuous mode as the
chimney was designed in such a way that the pressure losses from EAHE
supply air temperature increases the recovery temperature varies be-
were compensated. The schematic diagram of the setup is given in
tween 19.5 and 21.7 °C.
Fig. 12. The parameters examined are time and date, relative humidity
Niu et al. [69] predicted the cooling capacity of EAHE using re-
(%),supply air, supply airflow rate (m3/s), the indoor relative humidity
gression analysis. The study considers both heat and mass transfer be-
(%), outdoor relative humidity (%), solar collector airflow rate (m3/s),
tween tube and air. A mathematical model was formulated to estimate
supply air temperature (°C), average indoor temperature (°C) and out-
the underground soil temperature. The results were validated with re-
door air temperature (°C). The underground soil temperature was
sults already present in a test facility. For the heat transfer analysis,
monitored at different depths. It was seen that fewer temperature
sensible and latent heat transfer were considered. A simulation model
fluctuations were observed for deeper depth. The maximum tempera-
was developed in MATLAB 8. The data was validated with the experi-
ture difference was observed at 2.9 m depth.
mental data already present in a test facility in Omaha, USA. The results
Mendez et al. [66] studied the uses of PID controller, which is
when compared show a good agreement with the present data. Thus,
generally used for thermal processes. This study shows the usage of PID
the formulated equation for soil temperature can be used. For the
in improving the performance of EAHE than conventional heat ex-
EAHE, there was a rise in outlet temperature. To predict the soil tem-
change. Simulation of PID was created in LabVIEW. The results show
perature, temperature profiles were checked along the length. The re-
that PID controllers show better control of temperature in comparison
sults indicate that as the surface temperature increases, the outlet
with the conventional controller. The PID controller reduces energy
temperature increases. Also as the tube diameter increases, there is a
consumptions after a steady temperature is achieved. The average en-
decrease in the outlet temperature. Cooling capacity for the system was
ergy consumption on energy consumption was 0.017 kWh. There was
also investigated. The cooling capacity increases with increase in the
about 87% energy saved in comparison to conventional controllers. A
inlet air temperature. On calculating the cooling capacity sensible
simulation runs on PID controller, results show that energy consump-
cooling capacity was 0.31 kW/°C and latent cooling capacity was
tion can be reduced if a PID controller is applied. It not only increases
0.7 kW/°C. Thus, the total cooling capacity was 1.1 kW/°C.
Derbel and Kanoun [70] investigated the ground temperature at
different depths in Tunisia. A thermal model was developed considering
all the properties of the soil and other meteorological factors. In this
study different thermal conductivities of the soil were tested to un-
derstand the physical properties of the soil. A model of EAHE system
was developed for estimating the heating and cooling loads. It was
observed that as the burial length as increases the energy load of the
system also increases. Further, it was also observed that as the pipe
length of the system increases, the thermal efficiency of the system also
increases. The results of the model were validated against an experi-
mental setup [71]. Thus it was concluded that at a certain burial depth
the ground temperature becomes stable.
Jassim et al. [72] investigated the performance of wind catcher in
Fig. 12. Schematic diagram of EAHE coupled to solar chimney [65]. EAHE to reduce the energy consumption in hot dry areas like Iraq. Wind

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N. Bordoloi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 89 (2018) 261–280

Catcher is a device designed for pulling and expelling the air. Generally, Krarti and Kreider [75] studied the energy performance of EATHEs
wind catcher towers are connected to a building to cool the building. by developing a simplified analytical model. It was assumed after some
The thermal performance was studied in two phases. Phase 1: The days of operation that the system reaches periodic and quasi-steady
temperature was measured using data loggers. Phase 2: Simulation is state behaviour. Also, the model was valid when condensation occur-
done using CFD. The model was a 2-storied building with a wind ring inside the tunnel. The heating and cooling effect of the system were
catcher of 2 m2 area. A CFD model was formulated and was validated also studied. For the study of hydraulic diameter and air flow rate, a
against the experimental setup. Results indicate that a higher fluctua- parametric model was developed. It was found that increase in pipe
tion in temperature was seen in August. But these fluctuations were diameter is preferable for obtaining a suitable air flow rate.
decreased in June, but the relative humidity was increased. The results Khabbaz et al. [76] in Marrakech (Morocco) introduced EATHE
also indicate that the soil temperature also depends on the soil type and system for the cooling of a residential building located. The system was
water table. It was observed that if the wind catcher space was in- made of three parallel PVC pipes of length 72 m each and a diameter
creased in phase 1, the thermal comfort was not achieved. But in phase 15 cm which were buried at a depth of 2.2–3.2 m. It was assumed that
2 if space is increased the temperature is reduced by 18 °C. It was also the system produces an air temperature of 25 °C with an outside tem-
observed that when the velocity was increased, the COP was increased perature of 40 °C. It was found that there was an exponential drop in the
to 5.24. Thus, this new design for self-cooling reduces energy con- reduction of annual and daily air temperature amplitudes which was a
sumption. function of pipe length and the characteristic length. Again, simulations
Li et al. [73] constructed an experiment in Harbin area of an air- for this system were also run for EAHE system in TRNSYS. There was
conditioning system for cold areas which directly supplies the cold good agreement between the experimental and simulated results. The
energy stored in the ground. The operation time was in summer in simulated results indicate that there was a maximum temperature drop
2006. Performance parameters such as the average heat rejection rate of 19.5 °C. Thus it was concluded that he EAHE system is beneficial to
unit depth of borehole and cooling seasonal performance factor (CSPF) use in Marrakech (Morocco) climatic conditions.
were investigated. The system consists of a ground heat exchanger and Belatrache et al. [77] studied the feasibility of EAHE in the climate
indoor fan coil. The circulating fluid considered was water. To reduce conditions of Algeria using a numerical simulation model. In this ana-
the thermal influence of the building on the ground, the borehole was lysis, the author calculated the appropriate depth of the buried depth of
made 7 m exterior to the walls. The heat rejection rate per unit depth of the tubes by taking considering the physical properties of the soil. The
borehole ranged between 40 and 100 W/m. The cooling characteristics analysis was done on the basis of air flow rate, length and radius of the
are divided daily cooling characteristics and into seasonal cooling pipe. It was observed from the analysis that the maximum cooling ca-
characteristics. On daily basis, maximum cooling capacity occurred on pacity of the system was 1.755 kWh. Thus it was concluded from the
the 2nd day. The ground temperature rises rapidly initially but becomes results that this EAHE system is quite feasible for small-scale residential
stable at a later stage. There was an increase of cooling 0.75 °C on last buildings.
45 days. On an hourly basis, maximum cooling capacity occurred on the Raczkowski et al. [78] investigated the EAHE system for a ventila-
first hour and minimum cooling capacity occurred on the tenth hour tion system in Poland using CFD simulations. The work focuses on the
having a ratio 0.81. Thus, the increase in ground temperature in in- investigation of temperature outlet dependency on fresh air after deli-
itially low at different depth and gradually becomes faster. vering to the mechanical system. The main focus of the work was to
Chlela et al. [32] carried out a numerical study to evaluate the evaluate an efficient passive technique to enhance the energy perfor-
energy performance of two different ventilation system and earth air mance and to maintain the standard with Polish National Energy
heat exchanger for three French climates. The building considered is a Conservation Agency (NAPE). The boundary condition for the analysis
dwelling called "Mozart" having floor area 101 m2. The simulations was considered with respect to the climatic condition. For simulations,
were carried out for three French cities: Nancy (5 °C), La Rochelle (8 °C) control volume method was used. The results were observed for dif-
and Nice (10 °C). Two ventilation systems were considered: mechanical ferent outlet temperature. It was observed that when Tin = − 24 °C the
extract ventilation system and balanced ventilation system. The soil simulated Tout = − 3.58 °C and the standard set by NAPE was
type proposed was clay. The thermal behaviour of the building was − 3.58 °C, almost similar variation were observed for different tem-
carried out using SIMBAD. Yearly simulations were done to evaluate peratures. A regression analysis of the inlet and outlet temperature was
the thermal performance of EAHE and balanced ventilation system for considered. On analysing the results a higher slope for CFD simulation
all three cities. The heating demands of the ventilation system for the was observed with respect to the NAPE standard. Thus confirming its
three cities were evaluated and there was a reduction in heating de- inferiority with respect to other conditions.
mand. The heating demand for the house in Nice was 13.2 kWh/m2, Kalashnikov et al. [79] studied the efficiency of EAHE system con-
which was almost equal to the annual heating demand. There was a sidering the spacing of the tubes as a variable. The other variables such
decrease in heating demand for EAHE with the mechanical extract as length, diameter, burial depth and air flow rate were also studied.
ventilation system. Thus, the balanced ventilation with heat recovery The thermal power was calculated for the only winter season. The re-
unit is more efficient than EAHE. During the summer season, the heat sults were independent of the tube diameter but the reduction of the
exchanger of the balanced system was bypassed. The cooling potential spacing between the tubes causes a loss of power by 5–15% depending
for the 3 cities was evaluated on 3 modes. Thus, EAHE has a good on the air flow rate, while the reduction of the spacing to 1 m resulted
potential for cooling. in a loss of 10–25% as compared to the case of an infinite spacing be-
Popiel et al. [74] in Poznan, studied the ground temperature by tween the tubes. Thus it was concluded that the efficiency of the system
considering two different ground surfaces i.e. car park and lawn, at two greatly depends on the orientation and spacing between the tubes along
different soil depths. It was found that the subsoil temperature below with other variables.
1 m for the lawn was about 4 °C lower than the car park. Again, when Darkwa et al. [80] installed an EAHE system in the Center for
the subsoil temperature for the conditions was not in the desirable Sustainable Energy Technologies (CSET) at the University of Not-
range (18–30 °C) for thermal comfort, the conditions were improved to tingham to investigate the effectiveness of this system. The study also
bring the temperature into the desirable heating/cooling temperature examined the other factors that might affect the performance of the
range. A short variation in temperature was observed for a depth of system in hot and humid climate. It was concluded from the results that
0–1 m. It was also observed that during summers the ground tempera- this system was effectively used in building for energy savings. It was
ture in the car park was 4 °C higher than the lawn. Also, similar var- also observed that during the month of March and July there was a COP
iations were observed in winters. Thus the author concludes that a of 3.2 and 3.53 respectively. Thus, the EAHE system can be used ef-
temperature variation is necessary for heat loss calculations. fectively in such a climate during both the seasons.

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 N. Bordoloi et al.

Table 4
Summary of analytical results conducted in India.
Author Place/Year Season Material Length of pipe Diameter of pipe Depth of pipe Temperature range Velocity range Temperature rise/fall Variable Others
[m] [m] [m] [°C] [m/s] [°C]

Kumar et al. [90] Mathura, India, – – 80 – – 23.8–27.9 4.9 20.2 Length of pipe –
2003 2.15 Mass flow rate –
25.3 Radius of Pipe –
Ghosal et al. [11] New Delhi, India, Summer PVC 39 0.06 ≤4 39–45 – 34–39 Length of pipe –
2003 Winter 4.0–9.0 7.0–8.0 Length of pipe –
Bansal et al. [86] Ajmer, India, 2009 Winter MS 23.42 0.15 2.7 8.0–12.7 2.0–5.0 12.8 Velocity of pipe –
PVC 12.5 Velocity of pipe –
Bansal et al. [17] Ajmer, India, 2009 Summer MS 23.42 0.15 2.7 8.0–12.7 2.0–5.0 12.7 Velocity of pipe –
PVC 10.3 Velocity of pipe –
Bisoniya et al. [18] Bhopal, India, 2014 Summer PVC 9.114 0.1016 2 25–40 0.4–25 12.9–11.3 Velocity of pipe –
Bisoniya et al. [101] Bhopal, India, 2014 Summer – – – – – – – No results –
monitored
Mathur et al. [102] Jaipur, India, 2014 HDPE 40 0.1 27 5 46.7–28.8 Soil Type Soil J
46.2–28.8 Soil Type Soil F
46.2–28.8 Soil Type Soil A

274
Chaturvedi et al. Bhopal, India, 2015 Summer GI 9 0.05 2.0–3.0 – – – Material of Pipe –
[28]
Thakur et al. [92] India, 2015 Summer Al 60 0.1 – 46 3.0–9.0 25.5 Configuration Finned
Summer 28.3 Configuration Unfinned
Singh et al. [91] Punjab, India 2015 Winter GI – 0.1524 3.048 – 16.7 29.3 Crossectional area –
Summer – – –
Khandelwal et al. Jaipur, India, 2015 – PVC – 0.1524 4 – 4 11.5 – mathematical model
[98]
Mathur et al. [97] Jaipur, India, 2015 – HDPE – – – 26.39 – 27.27 Burial Depth –
Singh et al. [13] Chandigarh, India, – – – – – – – – – –
2015
Kaushal et al. [99] India, 2015 – – 3 0.1 – 7 1.0–3.0 21–24 Configuration Hybrid EAHE
12 Configuration EAHE
Jakhar et al. [95] Rajasthan, India, – HDPE 90 0.025 – 90 – ± 1.61 Material of pipe –
2016 GI Material of pipe –
St Material of pipe –
HDPE 22.5–27.7 Burial Depth –
31.9 Length of pipe –
31.8 Diameter of Pipe –
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 89 (2018) 261–280
N. Bordoloi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 89 (2018) 261–280

Hepbasli [81] studied the performance EATHE system when cou-

6.4–3.6

2.8–3.1
COP

1.54
4.57
pled with a PV system. The coupled system was installed at the Solar

7.9
2.1
2.9
1.8

–
–

–
–

–
–
Energy Institute, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey; the PV system powered
the fan connected to the EATHE system. In this study, an exergy ana-

Before renovation, after

renovation, EAHX for 6
lysis method was used to investigate the design of the system. It was
found that the overall energy efficiency of the system was calculated as
72.10% while the overall exergy efficiency value for the system was
19.18%. It was observed that there was a decrease in the exergy effi-

Mode III
Mode II
Others

Mode I
ciency decreased when the reference point was changed from 0 to 18 °C.
rooms

Again, the sustainability index value was decreased from 1.24 to 1.01
–
–

–
–
–
–
with the increase in its reference temperature. Thus it was concluded
Velocity of pipe
Velocity of pipe

Velocity of pipe
Velocity of pipe
Configuration that both the energy as well as exergy efficiency of the system is of
Configuration
Configuration
Burial Depth
equal importance. The author also suggests for further work on the cost
Variable

analysis and exergoeconomic analysis for various type of greenhouse

Time
Time

Time

heating EAHE systems.

–

Serres et al. [82] investigated a building in France with two energy

saving devices such as an air-earth heat exchanger and a ventilated
roof. The ventilated roof was composed of iron covering (iron) with an
variation [°C]
Temperature

insulation material of 0.08 m thick. The second device was an EATHE

12.7–15.7

17.7–21.1
17.5–22.3
17.6–24.1

24.3–24.7
24.3–32.5
8.3–12.4

buried at a depth of 1.7 m. The tubes were made of plastic having

35.5–42
6.4–9.1

25–26

20–22

different diameters. During winters, air coming from the ventilated roof
25.8

cause to flow through the EATHE before being blown into the building.
–
–

While in summer, the air was directly extracted from the ventilated roof
range [m/s]

or from the buried pipe system to be expelled outside.

Velocity

2.5,3.5,5
4.1–11.6

Amanowicz and Wojtkowiak [83] studied the flow properties of

multi-pipe EAHE obtained experimentally using CFD software Fluent.
6.7

13

5
–

The pressure losses and airflow for each pipe were examined. It was
Temperature range

observed that the airflow for each pipe was not equal. This study uses 5
parallel pipes which were connected to the main inlet and outlet pipe at
its ends. On comparing the simulated results with the experimental
13.9–20.4

results there was a deviation of less than 10% in case of pressure losses
37.5–46
35–42

34–44
15–18

and a discrepancy of 15% for smaller air flow rates. It was concluded
[°C]

45

that air flow division for the pipes may not be equal thus non-uni-
4
–
–

formity of air flow within the pipes can be taken into account for es-
pipe [m]
Depth of

timating thermal performance for these systems.

Ozgener et al. [84] studied closed loop vertical and horizontal EAHE
1.5

1.5

3.7

3.7
4

2
–

in Turkey to study the thermal performance of a PV assisted EAHE

system. The experimental study was commissioned in June 2009. The
Diameter of

data was collected for last 7 years on hourly basis at Solar Energy In-
pipe [m]

stitute of the Bornova Campus at Ege University, Turkey. The study

0.064
0.06

0.05

develops a mathematical model for the exergy analysis of the system. It

0.1

0.1
–

was observed that during the heating period the inlet temperature
varied between 3 and 17.1 °C and outlet temperature between 7 and
Length of
pipe [m]

24 °C. It was also observed that the mean exergy efficiency of EAHE was
55% with an exergy rate 5.82 kW.
76.5

78

17

60

11

60

Ascione et al. [85] studies the Net Zero Energy buildings [NZEB],
–

the main strategy to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emission in

Bamboo +Hydra

galvanised steel

buildings. It analyses a case of a two-storied building in Palermo, Italy

form Plaster

having an area of 520 m2. The NZEB is a new concept introduced by

Material

European Directive 31/2010/UE. This concept came from nearly Zero

PVC

PVC

PVC
PVC

PVC

Energy Building [nZEB], which implies that the non-renewable energy

GI

demand is equal to 0 kWh/m2 annually. For the analysis, the compu-

Summary of experimental results held in India.

Summer

Summer

Summer

Summer
Season

tational software used is EnergyPlus. The results obtained were vali-

Winter
Winter

Winter

Winter
Rainy

dated with the climate data available at International Weather for

–
–

Energy Calculation. A PV system made of monocrystalline silicon

Ajmer, India, 2016
Ajmer, India 2015
New Delhi, India,

panels titled to an angle of 15° (essential to obtain NZEB). A me-

Pradesh, India,
Gurgaon, New

Bhopal, India,

chanical ventilation system (MVS) was considered to estimate the

Place/Year

India, 2013

India, 2014
Delhi 2001

Arunachal

thermal performance. Energy Plus was used to evaluate the heating,

cooling potential considering 2 modes. Results show the primary en-
2009

2013

2016

ergy use per floor (PE) for summer (PEc) and for winter (PEh). Thus,
during summers PEc reduces the increase in airflow and vice-versa in
Misra et al. [100]
Thanu et al. [71]

Dubey et al. [89]

Jakhar et al. [30]

Jakhar et al. [96]

Choudhury et al.
Chel et al. [88]

Soni et al. [94]

winters. The annual electricity demand for MVS was 35,455 kWh and
for EAHE+MVS, the demand was 31,200 kWh. But the PV panels
[26]
Author

produced only 31,300 kWh. Thus, more PV panels are to be installed

Table 5

to satisfy the demand. Thus, NZEB is possible using renewable energy

is possible. The electrical demand in the case of only MV is more so a

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N. Bordoloi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 89 (2018) 261–280

higher number of PV must be sued to compensate the demand than the experimental data and simulated data at different velocities; there was
other case. a deviation of 0–8.86% of the experimental results. It was observed that
the maximum hourly cooling energy gain was 1.8 MWh at 5 m/s. Thus,
3.2. Research conducted in India it was concluded that for effective reduction in cooling load EAHE can
be used in buildings during summer season.
The climate of India ranges from tropical south to the temperate Dubey et al. [89] considered an open loop EAHE having 3 horizontal
north. The climate of India is influenced by The Himalaya and the Thar pipes connected in parallel to the find cooling rate during the summer
Desert. With the help of geothermal energy, about 6.5% of electricity season. The pipes were in parallel connection with a common intake
generation is achieved [36], but India is at the nascent stage for power and exhaust manifold of the air passage. Results indicate that there was
generation using geothermal energy. The Geological Survey of India a decrease in the temperature and COP of the system as the velocity was
reported that there are about 340 geothermal hot springs [36] that increased. Thus, the velocity of air flow affects the performance of the
conserve geothermal energy in India. The Indian market has not been system.
much influenced by EAHE. Chaturvedi et al. [28] studied the performance of EAHE in Bhopal
In India, many types of research have been initiated to study the having multiple pipes in parallel during the summer season. It was seen
potential of buried pipes. The parameters for the studies are given in that material of the pipe has no effect on the output. The result shows
Tables 4, 5. Ghosal et al. [11] conducted an analytical study in New that if the length of the pipe is small and blower voltage is high, the
Delhi, India. The pipes were arranged in a serpentine manner with mass temperature difference at inlet and outlet can be low. Thus, it can be
flow rate 100 kg/h. The performance was evaluated on the basis length concluded that material of pipe does not affect the performance of the
of pipe and air temperature inside the greenhouse for both the seasons. system.
The results indicate that with an increase in the length of the buried Kumar et al. [90] studied the numerical techniques of finite differ-
pipes the air temperature inside greenhouse increases in winters and ence method and FFT (MATLAB) model. The results were validated
decreases in summers. Thus, concluded that performance of the EAHE is against the experimental data of a similar tunnel in Mathura (India). It
a function of length and temperature of the greenhouse. was observed that when the length and flow rate was decreased the
Bansal et al. [86] developed a model in FLUENT to reduce heating outlet temperature increases and decreases respectively. Also, when the
loads in a building. A transient and implicit model based on CFD was radius of the pipe was increased, the outlet temperature was increased
developed and was validated against a setup in Ajmer (winters). Two but convective heat transfer coefficient is lowered. Thus, can be con-
types of materials were considered Mild steel and PVC. CFD simulations cluded that longer tunnel length is efficient for more cooling energy
were performed in FLUENT 6.3. Result shows that as the air velocity saving. Results indicate that the cooling potential of the setup was
increases the outlet temperature decreases due to increase in heat 456kWh. By increasing the pipe radius above a critical value, the outlet
transfer coefficient of the materials. On keeping the same input con- temperature can be increased which affects the heating/cooling po-
ditions for both the materials it was seen that there was a small tem- tential. Thus, it was concluded that by using larger diameter pipe large
perature difference at the outlet of the pipe due to a high coefficient of outlet temperature can be achieved.
friction. It can be concluded that convective heat transfer plays an Singh et al. [91] designed a metallic EAHE to determine the heating
important role than conductive heat transfer. It can also be concluded and cooling loads of a classroom. The ducts were laid in a zigzag pattern
that the performance of EAHE does not depend on the material of the having a combination of PVC and Iron, a square cross-section for the
pipe. Results show that EAHE saves 38% of electricity in comparison to metallic pipe and round cross section for PVC. The cooling load was
an electric heater having an efficiency of 95%. Thus, the material of the found using CLTD method. The main duct was divided into 3 parts; inlet
pipe is not of much concern so a cheaper material can be used. and outlet were made of PVC and remaining sections were made of
Bansal et al. [87] conducted the same experiment for summer galvanised iron. The simulations were run in ANSYS. The result shows
season considering the same input parameters. When comparison was that there was a change in the temperature profile at the outlet of the
made, there was a variation of 0–11.4% with the experimental results. metallic section. The air in the central portion is warmer than the air
It was seen that as the air velocity increases the outlet temperature near the boundary layer by 2 °C as the inner part gets less convected.
increases. For both the materials a very small temperature difference at After all the variables were taken into account, final layout of the earth-
the outlet of the pipe. The maximum hourly energy gain was 3.1 MWh, air tunnel was made through CATIA software. The prototype was run in
observed at 5 m/s, in the same velocity range the COP obtained was different seasons. The prototype showed a maximum C.O.P of 3.9 in the
1.9–2.9. Thus, the material of pipe does not influence the performance summer season which was more than COP of 2.1 in the winter season. It
of EAHE. was seen that the maximum cooling effect of the prototype was 2.6 kW.
Chel et al. [88] formulated a thermal model of vault roof building Thus, it can be concluded that the EAHE is more useful during summer
coupled with EAHE solved by Ranga Kutta approach. The adobe house season than in winter season for the climate of Punjab.
has a room air temperature higher than ambient air in winters and Thakur et al. [92] developed a model in Pro–e to study the effect of
lowers than ambient temperature in summers by 5–15 °C which in- a finned model of EAHE. This was compared with a finless model of
creases the energy-saving potential. The analysis of the adobe house EAHE. Meshing tool used was ANSYS Workbench, complex heat
was done under 3 conditions (Before the renovation, after renovation, transfer and air flow process studied using FLUENT. The computational
with EAHE for 6 rooms). The total energy saving potential obtained model validated against an experimental study conducted by Misra
between 4183 and 10,321 kWh/year for all three cases and the CO2 [93]. The simulations were run at different pipe inlet velocities. On
emission ranged from 7 to 16 t/year. The average seasonal energy ef- comparing the data with the existing experimental data, it was seen that
ficient ratio for heating was 1.8 and for winters were 2.9. Thus, it can be there was a variation of 7.64%. The simulation results for finned and
concluded that EAHE is more efficient for heating than for cooling. finless EAHE system were studied. From the results, it was concluded
Bisoniya et al. [18] investigated the cooling demand in a building that on an addition of fins, the system to work efficiently even if the soil
for a hot and dry climate of Bhopal considering quasi-steady state has poor thermal conductivity. Also, concluded that smaller length of
model, developed in CFX 12.0. The simulated results were validated pipes can perform satisfactorily thus lowering the initial cost.
against an experimental set up in Bhopal. The observations were made Soni et al. [94] conducted an experiment to reduce the power
for different flow velocities assuming Tsurface = Tambient = Tinlet to consumption of a 1.5 TR air conditioner coupled to EAHE. For the ex-
evaluate the total hourly energy gain. Results indicate that the tem- periment, three different arrangements were considered. The economic
perature drop was faster at the initial length of the pipe and became analysis techniques such as discounted payback period, simple payback
moderate for rest of the length. Also, a comparison was made with period, etc. were also evaluated. From the arrangements, it was

276
N. Bordoloi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 89 (2018) 261–280

observed that in arrangement II, the condenser tube temperature was The heating capacity and COP for mode II was 665.52 kW and 1.54, for
reduced by 10% than the arrangement III condenser tube temperature. mode III heating capacity was increased to 1976.02 kW and COP 4.57.
The power consumption in all 3 arrangements was also calculated and a Thus, it was concluded that for same power consumption the solar
comparison was with the base mode. The results indicate that the ar- heating duct increases the heating capacity as well as the COP of the
rangement III was useful in terms of power reduction during summer system.
days. At a velocity range between 5 and 7 m/s, EAHE arrangement gave Singh et al. [13] studied Chandigarh city for the installation of
optimum results. For the energy matrices, the EPBT for arrangement II EAHE. Chandigarh is situated at latitude 30.74°N, longitude 76.79°E
is 604.3 days and arrangement III is 362.6 days and the CO2 emissions and at an altitude of 321 m. It receives a rainfall of 1110.7 mm. The
for arrangement II are 5425.92 kg and arrangement III is 9043.2 kg. cooling period is from April to October and heating period is from
Thus, arrangement II is profitable to use in order to reduce the CO2 November to March. The soil type is sandy soil type in Chandigarh up to
emissions. a depth of 3 m with a water table of 5–15 m. The electricity demand in
Jakhar et al. [95] estimated the performance of EAHE with and summers and winters is 350 MW but available is only 324 MW. The soil
without Solar air heating duct (SAHD) during the winter season and diffusivity varies from 0.084 to 0.14 m2/day. Thus, Chandigarh city is
was formulated using TRNSYS 17. The results were validated against an suitable for the installation of EAHE.
experimental setup in Ajmer, India. For the solar air heating purpose, Khandelwal et al. [98] studied heating and cooling load of a Library
galvanised iron ducts were used. In the study, three cases were con- of MNIT, Jaipur. A simple excel model was developed. The library
sidered to investigate the performance of EAHE. The results show that consists of 4 rooms conditioned with split AC to which EAHE was
EAHE coupled with SAHD increases the outlet by 6–9 °C when the air connected. In the cooling load estimation, totally sensible and latent
velocity was varied. Also, it was observed that the heating capacity of heat was considered including infiltration load. During a survey, the
EAHE was refined when coupled with solar air heating duct. In the error comfort temperature was found to be 28.6 °C. Results show the max-
analysis, it was observed that there was an error of 3.9%. imum temperature drop was 11.5 °C and length of the pipe was 72 m. In
Jakhar et al. [96] investigated the operating temperature of Pho- a cost analysis result, Rs. 1,149,380 was estimated for its installation.
tovoltaic panels (PV) which was responsible for lifespan and perfor- The cooling load was 77 kW including ventilation load and the cooling
mance using TRNSYS v17.0. Water was used as operating fluid. The capacity of EAHE was 60,781 kW.
simulated system was compared with the prevailing ones in the lit- Kaushal et al. [99] used FVM to investigate the thermal potential of
erature for a given cooling setup of Concentrating Photovoltaic (CPV). hybrid EAHE. This study also used response surface method is used to
In the study three types of pipes material considered for the study. The optimise the process parameters using Ansys Fluent. The numerical
temperatures along the depth for all 3 pipes were evaluated keeping the results are compared to individual EAHE. The EAHE was coupled with a
pipe length, flow rate, diameter constant. On taking the pipe material solar air heater. The schematic diagram of the setup is given in Fig. 13.
into consideration it was observed that there was a temperature var- The temperature contours along the length were studied which shows
iation 1.61 °C. For the analysis, HDPE was considered as it cheaper. It that temperature increases with increase in length. The results of only
was observed that as the depth increases the average temperature also EAHE were validated against the data reported by Bansal [86]. The
increases. Thus, it was concluded that at 3.5 m was considered as op- results of HEAHE were validated against the experiment set up. Re-
timum depth for further simulation. Again, it can also be concluded that sponse surface methodology uses f test and ANOVA technique to esti-
the pipe material does not affect the performance of EAHE. But when mate the factors affecting the input variables. Results show that the
the mass flow rate was increased the outlet temperature, Reynolds potential or solar heat gain decreases with increase in temperature.
number and Nusselt number was increased. Thus, mass flow rate affects Results show that for hybrid EAHE shows maximum temperature drop.
the outlet temperature. Thus, HEAHE shows good performance than EAHE.
Mathur et al. [97] focuses on the thermal saturation of soil and the Thanu et al. [71] investigated the thermal performance of the
self-recovery ability of the soil between different (continuous and in- EATHEs in Gulmohar farmhouse, Gurgaon, India. The results were
termittent) modes of EAHE system which was set up in MNIT Jaipur, taken a single pass that was used to condition 3 rooms in the house. The
India. The numerical simulations were performed using Ansys FLUENT performance of the system was evaluated before and after the con-
v14.5. It was observed that there was a good acceptance between the struction. After the construction was complete the performance of
measured and simulated results. After the validation of the CFD model, EAHE in one room as evaluated. The COP for the summer, monsoon and
a comprehensive analysis was done to analyse the impact the soil winter seasons is 7.9, 1.9 and 2.1 respectively. It was concluded that
temperature on EAHE. Results indicate that the soil temperature along EATHE can installed for achieving thermal comfort.
the length decreases. Thus, ambient air temperature is also an im- Misra et al. [100] emphasis on the use of low-cost material like PVC
portant factor in soil temperature. In the study of heat penetrating the to the cooling potential. This focuses on the design of the duct system.
soil, the temperature profile in the radial direction was simulated. The The experimental setup was made as a prototype model where the base
result shows that the soil temperature decreases as it moves away from of the model was a metal tray. It was observed that the minimum EER
the EAHE surface but the soil temperature around the pipe varies with for the system was 3.78 which were almost equal to an energy star 5
ambient air temperature. This effect is analysed by considering the rating. Thus, EAHE also consumes less energy than convention systems.
continuous and intermittent operation modes. In continuous operation, This study suggests that the prototype model can be used in small
ambient temperature goes down and cools the heated subsoil which
helps to revive its cooling ability. In intermittent operation mode
through the heat conduction among the soil layers, the soil temp can be
recovered during non-working hours. The self-recovery temperature for
continuous operation was more than intermittent operation mode.
Jakhar et al. [30] predicted the thermal performance of EAHE when
coupled with solar air heating duct in Ajmer where the temperature
ranges from 15 to 18 °C in winters. The inlet of solar air heating duct is
connected to the outlet of the EAHE. In this study, three modes were
considered to estimate the thermal performance. The 3 modes were
evaluated in four periods 14–16 January, 26–28 January, 1–3 February
and 13–15 February. The results show that by using EAHE with the
solar heating duct increases temperature 1.1–3.5 °C inside the room. Fig. 13. Schematic diagram of EAHE with SAHD [99].

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N. Bordoloi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 89 (2018) 261–280

houses which can maintain the room temperature lower than outside 4. Discussions
temperature during the summer season. The author recommends the
EAHE to use domestically in houses to achieve thermal comfort. Thus, The results of various studies conducted are shown in Tables 1, 5. It
EAHE is an energy efficient system when compared with an energy star has been analysed from the tables that results mainly focus on the
rating system. variation of outlet temperature. It should be noted that according to the
Bisoniya et al. [101] developed a model to study the different design working principle of EAHE the outlet temperature depends on the lo-
parameters pipe radius, length, depth of burial and air flow rate to cation, depth, length, diameter of the pipe, season and ambient tem-
estimate the thermal potential of EAHE. In one dimensional model, a perature, the thermal conductivity of the pipe, air flow velocity and
relation was derived between inlet and outlet temperature by giving a configuration. This has been varied from the results of various studies in
description of a pipe. This shows that performance of EAHE as the the literature. Following are parameters that influence the performance
steady-state 1D model. 2D models are used to calculate the ground of EAHE with summarized suggestions.
temperature at 5 different depths. Finite element methods are used to
solve the conduction problems. 3-D models are developed to analyse 1. Underground Soil temperature: The underground soil temperature
the performance analysis also provides room for all types of grid geo- depends on the aboveground temperature. The soil characteristics
metry. For solving 3D heat transfer and energy equation CFD is used. also influence the underground soil temperature. The temperature
For complex fluid flow and heat transfer process in any heat exchanger of the soil increases with increase in depth [47] but soil temperature
CFD software alike Ansys FLUENT, STAR-CD, CFX, FIDAP, CFD2000, should be lower than the surface temperature. The decrease in soil
PHOENICS, ADINA can be used. temperature decreases the heat transfer rate [50]. At a certain
Choudhury et al. [26] investigated an experimental study of EAHE depth, the temperature becomes stable.
design using low-cost material like Bamboos and hydra form to reduce 2. The depth of pipe and pipe orientation: Burial depth is directly
energy consumption. An open loop EAHE system was set up to predict proportional to soil temperature. As the depth of the pipe goes
the potential of EAHE. The experiment was conducted in Arunachal deeper the soil temperature increases. But the burial depth is in-
Pradesh. The study mainly focuses on the use of locally available ma- versely proportional to the outlet temperature. The depth of pipe
terials. Out of all locally available materials, bamboo was selected for affects the thermal potential. It was seen in the literature that
the pipe material. The thermal conductivity of bamboo was increased temperature increases with depth in winters and decreases in sum-
by using hydra form plaster. PVC pipes were used to install sensors for mers [48]. Hatraf et al. suggest that depth of pipe depends on the
the measurement of the temperature gradient. The inlet and outlet were diffusivity of the pipe. The cooling capacity increases as depth in-
formed using PVC pipes and bricks. Results show the maximum hu- creases. Generally, the burial depth considered for the studies varies
midity recorded was 98%. Irrespective of the inlet temperature, outlet between 2 and 5 m. The pipe orientations used in the literature are
temperature range between 25 and 26 °C. Results also show a variation open loop, closed loop. The pipes were also laid in parallel and in a
of outlet temperature with airflow velocity. It was seen that using of serpentine manner. These configurations have not much effect on
bamboo with hydra form plaster in the tunnel, reduces the outlet the thermal performance.
temperature by 10–15 °C which reduces the electricity consumption. 3. The diameter of pipe: The diameter of the pipe is directly propor-
Thus, this type of tunnel configuration is very effective for agricultural tional to the outlet temperature. As the diameter of the pipe is in-
and residential buildings. EAHE supplies fresh air ventilation and is safe creased the outlet temperature also increases. But increase in the
for environment. It also reduces the CO2 emission which helps in en- pipe diameter reduces the convective heat transfer coefficient which
vironmental management. in turn reduced the heating capacity of the system. Generally, dia-
Mathur et al. [102] studied the thermo -physical properties of soil meters vary between 0.1 and 0.6 m as suggested in the studies.
on the performance of EAHE. The study was validated using 3D tran- 4. Length of the pipe: The length of the pipe is directly proportional to
sient numerical model for 3 different soil types. A CFD model was outlet temperature. As length increases the temperature at the
formulated and solved using Ansys FLUENT 6.3. For the creation of outlet also increases. This enhances the heating potential of the
geometry Gambit 3.3 was used. The model was validated against the system. The optimal length depends on the climatic conditions.
numerical model developed by Mishra, 2013 [93]. The three soil types 5. Pipe Material: The pipe material does not affect much of the per-
selected for the study are: Soil J, F and A. The results also imply that formance. Thus, a cheaper pipe material such as PVC can also be
there was more heat penetration in the surrounding soil for J and F soil used. This makes the system more economical.
type as they have high thermal conductivity than soil type A. Thus, the 6. Airflow velocity: Air flow velocity is directly proportional to outlet
performance of soil type J and F were similar because soil with high temperature. Any small change in the air flow velocity causes a
thermal conductivity have high rate of heat transfer small decrease in the outlet temperature. High air flow velocities are
From the literature survey, it can be concluded that the performance not considered as it is not energy efficient. Generally, the air flow
of EAHE system depends on the material type of the pipe, length of the velocity varied between 2 and 5 m/s as suggested by the studies.
pipe, diameter of the pipe, pattern of the pipes laid on the ground, 7. COP: As suggested in the literature the COP in winters is lower than
underground soil temperature, soil properties, soil thermal con- COP in summers. Thus, EAHE systems can be used in both the
ductivity, inlet flow velocity, geographical and climatic conditions. For season for space heating and cooling.
the computational formulation selection of suitable software like 8. As noted from the literature survey, EAHE saves up to 50% energy
FLUENT, TRNSYS, EnergyPlus, REHAU. The performance parameter than conventional systems. Depending on the current scenario EAHE
that are affected are the pressure drop, temperature drop at the inlet is the perfect alternative to conventional systems that can employ in
and outlet, convective heat transfer coefficient, Reynolds Number, commercial, residential and agricultural buildings to achieve
Friction factor, overall heat transfer coefficient, heat capacity and total thermal comfort.
heat generated by the system. In case of coupled EAHE system the
coefficient of performance is considerably affected. The significance of 5. Conclusion
Boundary layer formation inside the pipes has not been brought into
focus. An attempt can be made by comparing different duct geometries Minimization of high-grade energy and to recommend the use of
with different duct material considering the boundary layer formation renewable energy to protect the earth from hazardous effects has be-
inside the pipes. Computational software such as ANSYS FLUENT, come an important aspect of today's world. Heating/cooling of air with
STAR-CD can be used as the simulation tool to evaluate the perfor- EAHE is a passive way to reduce the heat losses due to ventilation and
mance parameters mentioned above. thermal comfort in buildings. EAHE is an emerging technique which

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N. Bordoloi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 89 (2018) 261–280

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