Heat load factor for geothermal district heating system design

Abstract

Design of heating systems using conventional fuels is based on peak load which is calculated according to the coldest outdoor design temperature. But in geothermal district heating system design it is common practice to use a heat load factor between 0.6-0.7 since the resource is continues, cheap and system can be run for 24 hours a day. Heat load factor can be defined as a ratio of actual heat load to design heat load of the system. In this study, a geothermal district heating system is designed for Izmir Institute of Technology Campus, Izmir, Turkey and simulated for a heat load factor range of 0.5-1. For the Campus case, the heat load factor is determined as 0.53-0.0.67 based on indoor air temperature and operational cost.