Geothermal storage integration into supermarket's CO2 refrigeration system

Abstract

This paper investigates the integration of geothermal storage into the state-of-the-art CO2 trans-critical booster systems. The objective is to evaluate the impact on energy efficiency of this integration. Three scenarios of integration are studied including stand-alone and integrated supermarket building systems. The results show that for a stand-alone supermarket, heat recovery from the CO2 system should be prioritized over extracting heat from the ground, which can be done either by an extra evaporator in the CO2 system or by a separate ground source heat pump. In the case of supermarket integration with a nearby district heating consumer, geothermal storage integration with extra evaporator in the CO2 refrigeration system can reduce the total annual running cost of the two buildings by 20-30%. The determining factors on profitability of geothermal storage integration are the heating demand of the supermarket and possibilities of coupling its heating system to another nearby consumer. This integration is beneficial if the full efficient heat recovery capacity of the CO2 system is not sufficient to provide the entire demands.