“Ground source heat pump as an alternative in hvac systems for buildings in nuevo leon, mexico”

“GROUND SOURCE HEAT PUMP AS AN ALTERNATIVE IN HVAC SYSTEMS FOR BUILDINGS IN NUEVO LEON, MEXICO” Héctor Miguel Hernández Turrubiates Center for Environmental and Research Education, Duquesne University. 600 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15420, U.S.A. (412) 482-4913 hernandezturrbh@duq.edu

ABSTRACT The energy consumed in buildings represents an important part in generation ofgreenhouses gases around the world. The major part of energy consumption in buildings is due to Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems. The use of renewable energies as an alternative for reduction of fossil fuels consumption is more often in the race for stop climate change. Geothermal energy has been gaining terrain the last years in HVAC systems through Ground Source Heat Pump(GSHP). However, in Mexico there is still much uncertainty with this application because there is no much information or background on these issues, making it difficult to decisions makers, in building projects, to give an opportunity to GSHP systems. This paper aims is to analyze GSHP systems and its applications versus conventional HVAC systems. For this case of study, a typical building located inMonterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, will be studied; taking into account variables that have an influence in the process, using computer's simulation tools.

INTRODUCTION CURRENT AND FUTURE ENERGY SCENARIO IN MEXICO Day after day not only growing demand for electricity use around the world but also the need to meet those needs in a reliable, efficient and taking into account the care of theenvironment. Each country develops its own strategies of power supply based on their economic development. The annual growth rate (AGR) of global electricity consumption for the period 1994 to 2003 was 3%. In North America the AGR has been 2%, below the world average; taking to Canada, United States and Mexico an AGR of 1.4%, 1.9% and 5.7% respectively. The forecasts for world consumption are expected thatdeveloping countries are those who achieve the highest growth in electricity capacity in the coming years. In Mexico, electric service is in charge of the company Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) and it is this institution that regulates, through the Public Service Act Electricity (LSPEE) and Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE ) all matters concerning the generation, transmission anddistribution of electricity in the country. The power supply is classified into five areas: Agricultural, Industrial, Residential, Commercial and Services. The Industrial sector is the most AGR presented with a 4.5% during the period 1994 to 2004, and accounted for 59.1% of total domestic supply for the past year. However, this sector is divided into two sub sectors, Big Industry and Medium Enterprises,which

accounted for 38.8% and 61.2% respectively of the total industrial sector. The residential sector is in second place, accounting for 24.9% of total consumption of generation in the country. Although only one institution is responsible for the electricity service in Mexico (CFE), it is divided into regions to better control. The Northeast Region has the highest growth has been in recentyears in terms of power consumption, with 5.2% AGR. This is mainly due to the number of new industries and high temperatures in this region, increasing the use of air conditioning and refrigeration. Nuevo Leon is one of the states that belong to this region and is the largest consumer of electricity with 35% of the total energy supplied. The Projected growth in power in Mexico for 2015 is 5.2% AGR,with the Industrial Sector the fastest growing today. Unfortunately, the use of renewable energy technologies have a major development in our country in the coming years, compared with natural gas which is estimated to cover 51.8% of the source of electrical energy production by 2014. This national strategy and concern about the current problems in the environment, including climate change, makes...