Combating urban heat islands : assessing the potential of open-loop geothermal heat pump systems in Canada

Urban aquifers hold significant potential for sustainable space cooling solutions to help address the growing issue of urban heat islands, yet their suitability has remained underexplored. This study presents an assessment of urban aquifer suitability for cooling with groundwater heat pump (GWHP) systems in 10 Canadian cities. A numerical model was then developed for a case study in Québec City to compare the performance and thermal impact of different open-loop geothermal systems. A favourability index in the form of a 5-point rating system was developed to classify aquifer suitability by integrating key hydrogeological properties obtained from field data. Results indicate that Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Kitchener/Waterloo/Cambridge have high suitability scores (≥4/5), while Toronto, Montréal, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa/Gatineau, Québec City and Saskatoon score moderately (between 3/5 and 4/5). In addition to comparing conventional GWHP and aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) systems, the modeling work also investigates the influence of a free cooling mode. Under the given conditions and assumed building loads, ATES systems perform slightly better than GWHP systems due to more efficient abstraction temperatures from stored thermal energy. Both system types show higher seasonal performance during cooling periods than during heating. Notably, operating with 100% free cooling yields a seasonal performance factor (SPF) of 19.1 during cooling while maintaining nearly identical performance during heating and causing minimal thermal impact on the aquifer. This research provides valuable insights into the sustainable potential of open-loop geothermal systems for urban cooling and UHI mitigation in cold climates.

Author dc:creator

• Victoria Lee 1995-

Contributors dc:contributor

• Háskólinn í Reykjavík

• Orkuvísindi
• Meistaraprófsritgerðir
• Varmadælur
• Sustainable energy science
• Heat pumps
• Urban heat island

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1946/51624

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:skemman.is:1946/51624