International Journal of Refrigeration 28 (2005) 1308–1315

www.elsevier.com/locate/ijrefrig

Naturally circulating probes and collectors for

ground-coupled heat pumps
René Rieberer*
Institute of Thermal Engineering, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 25/B, A 8010 Graz, Austria
Received 26 January 2005; received in revised form 22 August 2005; accepted 23 August 2005
Available online 15 November 2005

Abstract
Both vertically and horizontally installed heat source systems for ground-coupled heat pumps based on the thermosyphon
principle using CO2 as the working fluid have been investigated theoretically as well as experimentally.
The investigation of the vertical type (CO2 probe) has started in 1997. During the last years various design and operational
parameters have been analyzed in depth, e.g. optimum number of parallel earth probes, probe length, CO2 charge required etc.
In Austria up to now more than 100 systems have been installed, and the experience confirms that a heat pump system
consisting of heat pump, probe head, and CO2 probe is a reliable, highly efficient as well as environmentally friendly alternative
to commonly used ground-coupled systems.
The great success with the CO2 probe initiated further research activities on a horizontal type (CO2 collector). The first
experimental results carried out with a test rig in the laboratory confirm that CO2 can be used as heat carrier in collectors.
q 2005 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Heat pump; Ground source; Design; Probe; Thermosiphon; CO2; Distributor; Experiment

Capteurs avec circulation naturelle et collecteurs pour les pompes à

chaleur sol-eau
Mots clés : Pompe à chaleur ; Sol-eau ; Conception ; Capteur ; Thermosiphon ; CO2 ; Distributeur ; Expérimentation

1. Introduction K25 8C, duration of the heating period 220 days, heating-
degree-days 3400 Kd/a (based on a room temperature of
The Austrian climate during the heating season can be 20 8C).
described as follows: mean air temperature about 2 8C, For new single-family houses the market share of heat
design temperature for the heating system between K10 and pumps is about 12% and one can find a variety of heat
K16 8C, minimum morning temperatures between K20 and source systems. The ground is the preferred heat source,
because below the frosting depth — that varies from 0.6 to
1.2 m — the ground offers a more or less constant
* Tel.: C43 316 873 7302; fax: C43 316 873 7305. temperature all year long. The typical temperature of the
E-mail address: [email protected]. undisturbed ground is approximately 8 to 12 8C. The
URL: http://www.iwt.tugraz.at. ground-coupled heat pump systems can be divided in:

0140-7007/$35.00 q 2005 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.

doi:10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2005.08.014
 R. Rieberer / International Journal of Refrigeration 28 (2005) 1308–1315 1309

Nomenclature
g gravity amb ambient
M mass flow rate C collector
p pressure cond condensation, condenser
Q capacity evap evaporation, evaporator
t temperature h heating
V volume flow rate ref refrigerant (R410A)
x vapour quality sat saturation
w water
Subscripts
0 evaporation or condensation

– direct evaporation systems, i.e. systems in which the In a CO2 thermosyphon used as heat carrier system from
refrigerant evaporates directly in the ground heat the ground to the heat pump both the heat absorption and the
exchanger, and heat rejection takes place at a sub-critical pressure, but close
– secondary loop systems using brine as the heat carrier to the critical point (31 8C/74 bar), because the temperature
from the ground to the heat pump. level during operation is about 0 8C. At 0 8C the saturation
pressure of CO2 is about 4 to 12 times higher compared to
In principle both systems can be installed either HFC refrigerants. For instance, at 0 8C the saturation
vertically (probe) or horizontally (collector). Probes gain pressure is about 35 bar for CO2, 8 bar for R410A, and
in importance, since the ground area is often limited. 3 bar for R134a.
However, during the last years ground-coupled systems Owing to the high pressure level, the vapour density of
have been discussed to be harmful to the ground water in the CO2 is high. At 0 8C it is approximately seven times higher
case of leakage, thus in some regions licensing becomes than those of R134a. The high vapour density results in the
more and more difficult. Additionally, the secondary loop high volumetric refrigeration (cooling) capacity of CO2. At
systems demand an electrically driven pump to circulate the 0 8C it has a value of 22,500 kJ/m3 for CO2, and for R134a it
heat carrier, and this reduces the heat pump system is 2900 kJ/m3. The assumption that the low ratio of liquid to
efficiency (in the order of 10–20% depending on the vapour density (it is about 10 at 0 8C) may lead to a bad self-
system). Ground coils based on the thermosyphon principle circulation characteristic of CO2 is not correct and disproved
using CO2 (R744) as the working fluid can be a highly by the experimental results (see below). Reasons for the
efficient alternative to these systems and a way out of the good suitability of CO2 in a thermosyphon are, e.g. the high
restrictive legal situation. gradient of the saturation pressure (ca. 1 bar/K), the
In order to guarantee sustainability by means of natural favourable pressure drop and heat transfer characteristics
recharging during summer time, limits for the heat extrac- as well as the high refrigeration capacity.
tion from the ground during the heating season have to be The following chapter describes the layout of the
met. The guideline VDI 4640 [1] describes such limits for proposed system with a vertical ground heat exchanger
both probes and collectors. (CO2 probe), experimental data obtained with a prototype,
According to this guideline, the maximum heat some practical experience as well as simulation results.
extraction rate for ‘normal’ (wet) sediment is approximately Chapter 3 focuses on the investigation of a horizontally
50 W/mborehole, thus a probe length (borehole depth) of installed heat exchanger (CO2 collector).
about 16 m is required per kW-thermal output if the heat
pump achieves a seasonal performance factor (SPF) of 4.5,
i.e. a heat pump for a building with a heating capacity of 2. CO2 probe
6 kW at the design temperature requires a probe length of
approximately 100 m, or two probes each with 50 m. In the In the year 1997 a small Austrian company has started
guideline [1] one can find for collectors installed in ‘normal’ the development of the proposed system consisting of heat
sediment a maximum heat extraction rate of 25 W/m2, or — pump and thermosyphon. During the development phase
if the distance of the tubes is 0.6 m — 15 W/m based on the different working fluids in the thermosyphon have been
tube length. tested, e.g. R22, R134a and R290 (propane). Finally, CO2
All these numbers are based on heat extraction only, and turned out to be the favourite because the system works
a maximum operation time of 1800 h/a during the heating reliably, highly efficient, and last but not least CO2 is
season. However, as these numbers are independent of the harmless.
heat extraction technology they are valid for a thermo- In close co-operation with the Institute of Thermal
syphon with CO2 as working fluid as well. Engineering several prototypes have been investigated in
1310 R. Rieberer / International Journal of Refrigeration 28 (2005) 1308–1315

depth by means of extensive measurements as well as pump, corresponds to the ‘cooled’ section of the
simulation. The market introduction took place in 2001 and thermosyphon.
today more than 100 systems are in operation. During the If one compares the proposed system with a brine system
last years a great progress has been achieved with respect to following advantages can be summarized:
the reduction of the first cost realized by an optimization of
the probe head geometry, the installation procedure, a – the self-circulation (instead of forced circulation by a
standardization of the probe length, etc. [2,3]. pump) leads to a reduction of the electricity consumption,
– potential defects of the pump are eliminated,
– CO2 offers better heat transfer characteristics, and
2.1. System description – it is absolutely harmless for the ground.

The system is a refrigeration cascade consisting of However, one disadvantage of the thermosyphon should
several single probes — located in a borehole — in which be mentioned here: since the heat flow direction from the
CO2 evaporates, and ‘probe heads’ which are the CO2- bottom (ground) to the top (probe head) is determined by
condensers and refrigerant-evaporators of the heat pump nature, this system cannot be reversed, thus it cannot be used
(compare Fig. 1). for cooling during summer time.
The heat pump may supply a low-temperature hydronic The following section describes briefly some experi-
heating system (Qh). In the probe heads the heat extracted mental results carried out with one of the prototypes.
from the ground (Q0) is transferred to the heat pump cycle,
and they separate the CO2 thermosyphons from the 2.2. Experimental results
refrigerant cycle of the heat pump, thus pure CO2 without
any environmentally harmful substances circulates naturally The prototype is in operation since autumn 2000. The
in the ground heat exchanger, i.e. in the case of leakage no heat pump supplies heat to the low-temperature hydronic
risk of ground water contamination exists. heating system of an office building. The system is equipped
The working principle of the thermosyphon — which is with two 65 m boreholes each with four CO2 probes with a
physically a closed two-phase thermosyphon — can be diameter of about 15 mm, the heat pump uses R410A as the
described as follows (compare right chart of Fig. 1): due to refrigerant, the heating capacity is about 9.5 kW, and a
gravity the saturated liquid fluid (CO2) flows along the tube special control strategy allows a minimization of the super-
wall to the ‘heated’ section of a pipe, where it evaporates, heat at the evaporator outlet (typically lower than 3 K).
thus the liquid film becomes thinner and thinner while the As it is indicated in Fig. 2, the heat pump is located in the
generated vapour rises to the top. In the ‘cooled’ section at building while the probe head is located on the top of each of
the top the vapour condenses and the cycle starts again. the earth probes. For the experimental analysis following
For the application discussed, the heat exchanger section measurement devices have been used: on the refrigerant
buried in the ground corresponds to the ‘heated’ section and (heat pump) side, the evaporation and condensation pressure
the probe head, i.e. the refrigerant evaporator of the heat were measured with two pressure transmitters and the

Fig. 1. System layout (left) and working principle of a closed two-phase thermosyphon (right).
 R. Rieberer / International Journal of Refrigeration 28 (2005) 1308–1315 1311

thermosyphons in each borehole was measured at three

locations (5, 35, and 65 m below ground level). These
temperatures give an impression about the temperature
difference between ground and probe, the temperature
increase along the probe length (depth), as well as the start-
up characteristic of the natural circulation.
Fig. 3 shows measured temperatures and capacities. The
index ‘evap’ indicates evaporator and ‘cond’ condenser
of the heat pump (R410A) cycle. As one can see, the time of
operation was about 30 min followed by a stand-still of
about 50 min. The R410A condensation temperature was
about 30 8C and the evaporation temperature between K1.7
and K2.7 8C. The heating (condenser) capacity was about
9.3 kW and the evaporator capacity of all eight probe heads
about 7.6 kW. These capacities correspond to a coefficient
of performance (COP, i.e. the ratio of the condenser
capacity to the power consumption of the compressor) of
about 5.5 if losses to the ambient are neglected. The
evaporator capacity and probe head capacity, respectively,
corresponds to the overall extraction capacity of both bore
holes; the extraction rate was about 58 W/mborehole.
After the start-up of the heat pump the CO2 saturation
temperature (tCO2 ;sat , determined by means of the measured
pressure in the probe head) decreases from about 4 8C
during stand-still to about 0 8C right before the heat pump
stopped. The temperature difference between the condens-
ing CO2 and the evaporating refrigerant (tref,evap) is of high
interest because it is a figure for the efficiency of the system
(key word: additional temperature difference compared to a
direct system): during this experiment it was about 3 to 4 K.
Fig. 2. Prototype, measurement devices. This small temperature difference in the heat exchanger is
only possible if the super-heat of the refrigerant at the
suction and discharge temperatures as well as the throttling evaporator outlet is very low.
valve inlet and outlet temperatures were measured by means As already mentioned, the wall temperature gives an
of thermocouples. Furthermore, a mass flow meter measured impression about the ‘CO2 activity’ in the thermosyphon.
the refrigerant mass flow rate. The CO2 side has been Fig. 4 shows a result of the tube wall measurements: the
analyzed by means of a pressure transmitter allowing the prompt response of all three wall temperatures after the
determination of the saturation temperature in the probe start-up of the heat pump indicates that the natural
head, and a thermocouple measuring the CO2 temperature circulation in the probes started immediately.
before returning to the probe. The saturation pressure along the thermosyphon
Additionally, the tube wall temperature of one of the

Fig. 3. Typical system temperatures and capacities. Fig. 4. Probe temperatures.

1312 R. Rieberer / International Journal of Refrigeration 28 (2005) 1308–1315

increases due to gravity. Of course, a pressure increase charge and an analysis of the effect of under- and over-
means a disadvantage, but the CO2 properties are very charging as well as the prediction of the temperature
favourable because the effect in temperature increase is increase along the probe.
rather moderate. Assuming that the wall temperature is Fig. 5 visualizes the effect of the CO2 charge — which is
determined by the evaporating CO2 rather than by the typically lower than 2 kg — on the achievable saturation
ground temperature, one can conclude from Fig. 4 that the temperature in the probe head and Fig. 6 shows the
temperature increase along the ground heat exchanger is less simulated temperature increase in the probe due to the
than 2 K (compare following section). pressure change along the probe length (depth).
One can conclude from the strongly decreasing CO2
2.3. Simulation saturation temperature at low charges that the thermosyphon
is very sensitive to an under-charging: in the case of a charge
The experimental analysis of several prototypes has 7% lower than the optimum value the saturation temperature
verified both high efficiency and reliability of the proposed drops from about K0.4 to K2.1 8C. On the contrary, over-
system. During the last years the investigations have been charging does not influence the performance very much.
focused on the system optimization in order to offer an The grey area in the diagram indicates the saturation
economically competitive product. The reduction of the first temperature to be expected. The horizontal (upper) border is
cost was the most important issue. Following aspects have based on the optimistic assumption, that the liquid pool on
been considered by means of simulations: the bottom of the probe is ‘active’, i.e. no probe length is lost
due to over-charging. The lower border presents the
– probe length and CO2 charge pessimistic result assuming that the liquid pool is inactive,
– number of single probes in each borehole. i.e. a certain tube length will not be used for heat extraction
from the ground.
As mentioned above, the pressure increase along the
2.3.1. Probe length and CO2 charge probe depth (thermosyphon length) results in an increase of
For the design and optimization of the geometry of both the saturation temperature in the thermosyphon, i.e. it
the thermosyphon and the probe head a computer model has reduces the driving force for the heat transfer from the
been developed. The model comprises two sub-models for ground to the evaporating CO2. As can be seen from Fig. 6,
these main system elements. An essential feature of the the CO2 saturation temperature increase is about 1 K from
thermosyphon model is a correct modelling of the pressure the top to the bottom (0.015 K/m). This rather small
changes due to gravity, friction, and acceleration, because temperature difference — which has been confirmed
the resulting forces are responsible for the self-circulation by the experimental results (see above) — does not influence
characteristic, and the local pressure determines the the effectiveness of the system very much. In this context,
saturation temperature of the working fluid. the effectiveness means the resulting CO2 saturation
In the literature some sophisticated models are available
temperature in the probe head which is determined by
(e.g. Ref. [4]), but the complexity of these models leads to
the mean temperature difference between the ground and the
enormous programming effort as well as calculation time
evaporating CO2 (DTground;CO2 ). Of course, the smaller the
and it is not clear whether they are suited for CO2. In order
to reduce the efforts, calculation models from the VDI
Wärmeatlas [5] have been adopted. The computer model
allows for instance the estimation of the optimum CO2

Fig. 5. Simulated saturation temperature depending on the CO2

charge. Fig. 6. Simulated temperature increase along the probe length.
 R. Rieberer / International Journal of Refrigeration 28 (2005) 1308–1315 1313

CO2 temperature increase is the higher becomes the This is a rather moderate gain but the improved SPF
evaporation temperature and the efficiency, respectively, (seasonal performance factor) helps to pay back the
of the heat pump. investment cost, and one more aspect exists: ‘supply
security’.
In the unlikely event of a leakage a thermosyphon can
2.3.2. Number of single probes in one borehole
be ‘lost’: if four have been installed three are still available,
An interesting question is, how many single probes
and the resulting increase in temperature drop and reduc-
(thermosyphons) shall be installed in one borehole. Of tion of evaporation temperature, respectively, is not as
course, in order to guarantee sustainability the maximum dramatic compared to an installation of originally three
heat extraction out of one borehole has to be met (compare thermosyphons.
Chapter 1).
However, in the case of several thermosyphons in one
borehole the heat to be absorbed by one thermosyphon 2.4. Outlook
decreases accordingly, and the resulting temperature
difference between the undisturbed ground and the Up to now the standard lengths (depth) of the probes are
evaporating CO2 decreases as well, but the mutual influence 60 and 75 m. In order to reduce the first cost, a probe length
of the probes has to be considered. In other words, the of up to 100 m is investigated. This length could offer the
possibility, that for standard homes in Austria one borehole
optimization problem ‘gain in evaporation temperature vs.
is sufficient. First tests with a 100 m probe are already
rising first cost for the thermosyphons’ exists.
running.
FEM (finite element method) simulations have been used
to create a basis for further decisions. An example of a
simulated temperature distribution in the backfilling
material (bentonit) with two and three thermosyphons can 3. CO2 collector
be found in Ref. [3].
Fig. 7 summarizes the simulation results which are based Initiated by the great success of the CO2 probe a collector
on the following assumptions: constant temperature around test rig has been designed and constructed at the Institute of
the borehole with a diameter of 120 mm, a thermal Thermal Engineering. It is also based on the thermosyphon
conductivity of the backfilling material of 1 W/(m K), and principle and shall be used as horizontally installed heat
an equal overall heat extraction rate of 50 W/mborehole. source system for ground-coupled heat pumps.
Furthermore, it is assumed that no dry-out of the
thermosyphon takes place (Remark: this may occur at too 3.1. System description
high vapour velocities and capacities, respectively, leading
to a destruction of the liquid film). The system consists of a heat pump connected by the so-
As one can see, for two thermosyphons with the smaller called ‘collector head’ to the CO2 collector representing the
diameter the estimated temperature drop in the backfilling heat source system (compare Fig. 8): CO2 circulates
material (DT) is 9.5 K, for three 7.2 K, and for four 6.2 K, naturally driven by the density difference between the
i.e. if four instead of three tubes will be installed the liquid CO2 entering the collector tube and the (partly)
temperature drop can be reduced by about 14% by means of evaporated CO2 at the outlet from the collector.
33% more heat transfer area and tube material, respectively. As it is indicated in the figure, the test rig is not buried in
the ground but heated by the ambient air in the laboratory.
However, the main operating characteristics can be
transferred to a ground coupled system, because experience
confirms that tests at ambient air (20 8C) correspond
approximately to ‘real’ conditions (soil, 7 8C); the low
overall heat transfer coefficient from the air to the fluid
flowing in the collector is compensated by the increased
temperature difference.
Several sensors have been installed in order to determine
the operational characteristic of the system, e.g. three
thermocouples on the tube wall of the 45 m long collector in
order to observe the ‘CO2 activity’ (indicated in Fig. 8 with
tC,1.3).
The following paragraphs describe some basic obser-
vations with respect to required CO2 charge and effective-
Fig. 7. Simulated temperature drop in the backfilling material for ness of the collector head (CO2 condenser/refrigerant
different probe diameters. evaporator).
1314 R. Rieberer / International Journal of Refrigeration 28 (2005) 1308–1315

Fig. 10. Temperature difference between CO2 and evaporating

refrigerant (CO2 charge: 2 kg).

As one can see, the heat pump was started with a CO2
charge of 0.75 kg (present in the collector and the collector
head). This charge is too low, because only a small section
of the collector was ‘active’, as indicated by the low
temperature tC,1 but the high temperatures tC,2 and tC,3. The
overall collector was ‘active’ as the CO2 charge has reached
1.75 kg (compare dropping tC,3 at ca. 55 min).
Again, the temperature difference in the collector head
Fig. 8. Layout of the collector test rig. between condensing CO2 and evaporating refrigerant is of
special interest as it is an additional temperature difference
3.2. Experimental results
compared to direct systems. Fig. 10 shows a remarkable
dependency of the temperature difference (DTCO2 ;ref ) on the
Fig. 9 shows measured tube wall temperatures as well as
capacity transferred in the collector head (Qref,evapZQ0).
the CO2 saturation temperature (tCO2 ;sat ), i.e. the evaporation
During this experiment the heat pump capacity was reduced
temperature in the collector tube, observed while charging
by means of suction gas throttling; Q0 decreased from 740 to
CO2 to the system (CO2Charge ). During this experiment the 480 W (K35%). This capacity reduction resulted in a
ambient air temperature was 22 8C (relative humidity 23%) strongly reduced DTCO2 ;ref : from 7.3 to 2.9 K (K60%). In
and the heat pump was operated at maximum capacity. other words, the overall heat transfer coefficient in the
Depending on the CO2 charge and resulting evaporation collector head can be increased enormously by reducing the
temperature of the heat pump, respectively, a capacity of capacity; in this case it was more than 60%.
Q0Z600 to 750 W (corresponding to a heat extraction rate Furthermore, having in mind that the super-heat of the
of 13 to 17 W/m) was transferred from the ambient to the refrigerant at the evaporator outlet was about 2.5 to 3 K,
evaporating CO2 as well as from the condensing CO2 to the DTCO2 ;ref might be further reduced if the thermostatic
evaporating refrigerant in the collector head. expansion valve allows a lower amount of super-heat of the
refrigerant.

3.3. Outlook

Further measurements with the test rig will be carried out

in order to investigate the different mechanisms in the
thermosyphon system. In parallel, a simulation model is
under development which will be used for the design of both
the collector and the collector head as well as for the
determination of the optimum CO2 charge.

4. Conclusions

Fig. 9. Collector temperatures at different CO2 charges (heat pump After a detailed experimental as well as a theoretical
at maximum capacity). investigation of CO2 probes based on a closed two-phase
 R. Rieberer / International Journal of Refrigeration 28 (2005) 1308–1315 1315

thermosyphon, the market introduction took place in the the natural circulation of the working fluid instead of a
year 2001. Up to now more than 100 systems are in forced circulation of brine.
operation and the experience collected so far is very
promising: the systems work reliably, the temperature
differences between ground and CO2 as well as CO2 and References
evaporating refrigerant are small, and the installation of
several parallel thermosyphons guarantee a high efficiency. [1] VDI 4640, Part 2. Thermal use of the underground–ground
One can conclude from the investigations of the CO2 source heat pump systems; Verein Deutscher Ingenieure;
collector that the application of the thermosyphon to a Düsseldorf, Germany; 2001.
collector is possible, but the presently used collector head [2] R. Rieberer, K. Mittermayr, H. Halozan, CO2 thermosyphons as
(CO2 condenser/refrigerant evaporator) is very sensitive to heat source system for heat pumps — 4 years of market
capacity variations. Further investigations will concentrate experience, Proceedings of the 8th IEA heat pump conference,
on this phenomenon and the development of a simulation Las Vegas, NV, USA, 2005.
model. [3] R. Rieberer, K. Mittermayr, H. Halozan, CO2 two-phase
thermosyphon as heat source system for heat pumps,
The major advantage of the presented systems is that the
Proceedings of the 6th IIR-Gustav Lorentzen conference on
working fluid circulating in the ground heat exchanger is natural working fluids, Glasgow, GB, 2004.
environmentally friendly, thus in the case of a leakage no [4] A. Faghri, Heat pipe science and technology, Taylor & Francis,
harmful effects to the ground water can be expected. Oxford, 1995. [ISBN 1-56032-383-3].
Furthermore, the efficiency of the heat pump system is [5] VDI Wärmeatlas, Berechnungsblätter für den Wärmeübergang;
significantly improved compared to indirect systems due to VDI Verlag GmbH, Düsseldorf, Germany; 1994.