Energy Technologies HVAC Technologies

Underground Thermal Energy Storage (UTES)

Chuck Hammock PE, LEED BD+C, CGD
Andrews Hammock & Powell, Inc.-Consulting Engineers
August 12, 2015

Phoenix Convention Center Phoenix, Arizona

 Presentation Outline
Direct-Use (American) Geothermal Heat Pumps
(GHP) Architecture vs. Geothermal designed for
true Thermal Storage (typically only done outside
the US)
UTES: Underground Thermal Energy Storage can
store heat or cold, diurnally or seasonally
Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) Systems
Borehole Thermal Energy Storage (BTES) Systems
UTES increases the efficiency of traditional (US style)
GHP systems
ESTCP UTES Projects
Layered Thermal
Conductivity Testing (LTCT)
Distributed Temperature
Sensing (DTS)
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 Primary Differences of Direct Use Geothermal
Vs. UTES Geothermal
Direct Use: Typical American closed loop
piped in a grid with parallel flow or is a one-
way open loop that cant capture waste
heat/cold
With UTES, Geology is still used at heat sink &
heat source, but BTES/ATES is optimized to
deliberately store cold or hot.
Closed loop UTES (BTES) boreholes generally
piped as 3-6 boreholes in series for deliberate
thermal stratification or zones (bull's-eye)
Open Loop UTES (ATES) or BTES has the
capability to reverse the flow to charge or
discharge its stored thermal resource
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 Germanys VDI-4640 Guidelines
Underground Thermal Energy Storage Guidelines

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 Building Thermal Characteristics

Cooling Dominated Buildings: Capturing the cold

of winter and storing it in underground formations
or aquifers and harvesting it in summer to cool
the building
Heating Dominated Buildings: Capturing the hot
of summer and storing it in underground formations
or aquifers and harvesting it in winter to heat the
building
Balanced Buildings: Do Both, especially with ATES
Diurnal Load Variation? Do Diurnal Storage
Seasonal Load Variation? Do Seasonal Storage. In
reality most building obviously have both conditions

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 2015 by AH&P- Cannot be used without permission
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Approximate Groundwater Temperature Isotherms

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Aerial View of the Ft. Benning Building/ATES Site

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 Section/Detail of ATES Extraction and Injection Well

Natural Gamma Radiation: CPS

Confining Clay Layer

Monitoring Well Piping

Injection Valve
Submersible Pump

Intake Filter Screen with

Gravel Pack
2015 by AH&P/IFT- Cannot be used without permission Energy Exchange: Federal Sustainability for the Next Decade
 Adiabatic Dry Cooler for BTES/ATES

Application Heat Reject. COP

AirCooledDX 100
BTES Max 1616
BTES Winter 200-1600
BTES Yr. Ave 200-300
Annual Water Reduction
BTES 80-100%

Adiabatic Dry-Cooler with: Evaporative Cooling Pads @ Coil Inlets. 18

Compartmentalized ECM Fans. (360 to 1 turndown), Modbus Interface
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 2015 by AH&P- Cannot be used without permission
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 Satellite Imagery of MCLB BTES System Under Construction

13 Dec 2014 Google Earth Image

13 2
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 BTES Construction Activities

The two 30 high mountains in the woods/distance are actually the

20,000+ yd3 of earth temporarily removed for the BTES Installation

BTES: Outer Circular Headers(foreground),

BTES Reversing Valves
Radial Sub-mains (center)
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Modular Heat Recovery Chiller

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 Layered Thermal Conductivity Test (LTCT)
or Distributed Thermal Response Test (DTRT)
Possibly first ever conducted
in US
Marines Corps Logistics
Base, Albany GA (MCLB)
110 m u-bend borehole heat
exchanger adjacent to BTES
A 72 hours LTCT was
conducted between May 12
and 14, 2015 and heat pulse
tracked via DTS. Layer-by-
layer K values measured
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 Layered Thermal Condutivity Test (LTCT)
Downhole Temperatures
This contour diagram shows the fluid temperature along
the whole heat exchanger over the time observed. Right
high side is after elements de-energized

Outlet water from the

U-bend (surface)

Bottom of the U-Bend

(Axis of Symmetry)

Inlet Water into the U-

Bend (surface)

Possible
Groundwater
Flow
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 Summary: LTCT Results

Thermal conductivity [W/mK] Borehole resistance [K/(W/m)]

Sections 1 and 4
2,28
present the highest 1
0,070
thermal conductivity.
2 1,67
0,11
Temperature profiles
during thermal 3
0,12
1,58

recovery indicate
possible presence 4 2,24
0,07
of groundwater
flow in region 4 5 1,86
0,10

Borehole resistance is 6 1,67

0,11
low considering the
large borehole diameter 7 1,59
0,12

8 1,61
0,11

9 1,88
0,09

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Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS)

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Show BTES DTS Video (time permitting)
Why use ATES or BTES vs. Standard Open and
Closed Loop GEO at Federal Facilities??
Allows you to take same basic open or closed loop
GEO that has been used for years and increase its
efficiency, if properly modeled/engineered
Via Cold Capture or Hot Capture, allows Geo to
move beyond energy efficiency to a truly
renewable architecture.
Can eliminate cooling tower water usage, which
general far exceeds domestic water use (3-6M gal)
Proven technology used outside of the US for
decades. Beyond superior source/sink, real storage
Direct chilled water UTES systems, in the right
climate(<52F ground temp), can reduce cooling
KWH by 85%
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 Application Considerations at Federal Facilities
Utilize GHPs with UTES, when you need to reduce
KWH/KWD/Energy $s/Water/On-site Emissions
BTES is 50 state tech, ATES is aquifer dependent
GHPs/UTES can serve a building via small unitary
(water-to-air) GHPs or central chilled/hot water
Space HW heat most eff. if low temp./heat recovery
Optimized if domestic/process HW loads present
Must do TCTs, hourly building & GHX modeling
Requires Const. Mgmt: Submit. Reviews, grout test,
ASTM pressure testing, 4+FPS flush/purge, etc.
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 Questions and Answers!
Chuck Hammock, PE, LEED BD+C, CGD
-Andrews, Hammock & Powell, Inc.
-Consulting Engineers
-Macon, GA
-478-405-8301, Ext. 6362
chammock@ahpengr.com

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