Investigation of Thermal Energy Accumulation Using Soil Layer for Buildings’ Energy Efficiency

Abstract

The cold climate countries require high energy consumption for buildings’ heating. According to EU directives and national law, buildings’ energy efficiency is increasing due to higher investment in the sector. Primary energy consumption for space heating still comprises a large part of global energy consumption. It is essential to develop technological solutions and innovations to reduce energy consumption by using newer, smarter, more natural energy generation and accumulation. The soil layer could be used as a natural material for thermal energy accumulation. The soil’s temperature is higher than atmospheric air in the heating season and is lower in the non-heating season. Underground buildings placed in a soil medium could use less thermal energy for buildings’ heating and cooling during its life cycle. The impact of the wind is eliminated in this underground building case. As the soil temperature rises, the difference in temperature of the building’s inside air and the soil decreases. This means that the heat loss into the soil generates the conditions acting against the heat loss. However, heat spreads further and dissipates in the surrounding soil medium. The analysis of this research results showed that the savings in energy could reach 28 percent in the case of the underground building. Heat loss to the soil could be treated as the charge of the soil by thermal energy. The charging by heat and heat dissipation in the soil was researched experimentally. The dependence of the intensity of the charge on time was analysed and presented in this paper also.