An experimental study of the thermal performance of an earth-air-pipe system in single pass mode

The thermal performance of an earth-air-pipe system constructed at Gulmohar farm house, Gurgaon, India has been studied. It has been used in a single pass mode to condition three bedrooms, a living room, a dining room, and a kitchen of a farmhouse. The performance of the earth-air-pipe system was fi rst evaluated prior to the construction of the farmhouse. Accordingly, the temperature and relative humidity at suction and delivery points of the ear th-air-pipe system were monitored in three seasons i.e., summer. monsoon an d winter, After the construction of the farmhouse was completed, the perfor mance of the earth-air-pipe system in question, along with performance of o ne of the living rooms of the farmhouse, was evaluated. The temperature and relative humidity of a conditioned room (living room of the farm house), d elivery point of the earth-air-pipe system (located in the living room), su ction point of the earth-air-pipe system (the hut in which blower of the ea rth air-pipe system is placed) and ambient air were measured. The cooling a nd heating potential of the earth-air-pipe system is estimated. The coeffic ient of performance of the installed system during summer, monsoon, and win ter was found to be 7.9, 1.9 and 2.1, respectively. It is concluded that go od thermal comfort conditions can be created reasonably in the building wit h such a system. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.