The Feasibility Study of Earth Tube System in Taiwan for Single-family Detached House

• Main Authors: Hao-Jhong Wu, 鄔豪中
• Other Authors: Hao-Yang Wei
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2008
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/68270235358778841056

碩士 === 國立臺灣科技大學 === 建築系 === 97 === Earth tube systems (ETS) have been generally used for heating and cooling in cold and mild climates. The feasibility and efficiency of ETS in Taiwan are questioned because of the hot and humid climate. This study attempts to evaluate the feasibility of ETS for single-family detached houses in Taiwan by computer simulation and construction inquiry. The process of this study was as follows: 1. Categorized the factors which influence the performance of ETS outside of Taiwan by collecting related references and cases. 2. Conducted sensitivity analysis of the length, diameter, depth, distance to building and air change rate of ETS in Taiwan by adjusting the parameters in the simulation program “GAEA” and arranged the results in order of significance. 3. Based on step 2, restricted the parameters reasonably and simulated all possible sets of parameters to know the best performance of ETS in Taiwan. 4. Recommended a) combined ventilation systems, b) operation control and c) treatment of condensation and building envelopes for application of ETS in Taiwan. The simulation results showed that a well-designed ETS can cool the single-family detached house from 38℃ to 23.9℃ in summer and heat from 8.4℃ to 20.1℃ in winter. The annual energy savings are 124.9kWh (heating) and 844.3kWh (cooling). The results of this study are as follows: 1. Applicability: a well-designed ETS can provide a certain degree of cooling capacity for single-family detached houses in Taiwan. But it needs to be coupled with other cooling systems or dehumidifier to reach thermal comfort. 2. Operation control: ETS is expected to be used in Taiwan mainly to reduce the energy consumption of air temperature adjustment in summer and winter and not necessarily in Spring and Fall. 3. Construction treatments: reducing building envelope heat gain and draining the condensation by construction methods to ensure the cooling capacity of ETS. 4. ETS design guide: providing the design guide for use of ETS in Taiwan by establishing systematic performance-related criteria. This study showed by quantitative and qualitative analyses that ETS can provide a certain degree of cooling capacity in Taiwan. Follow-up studies should focus on validation of its performance, its energy saving efficiency, application methods and cost evaluation to validate the use of ETS in Taiwan.