I have a project where the project team are planning to partly cool the building using an aquifer. It would basically work as follows: Cool water from the aquifer is pumped from one side of the aquifer up to a cooling baffle that cools the air; the air is then ventilated throughout the building to cool it down. The water is then pumped back into another end of the aquifer (unpolluted). And the process repeats itself. This will also be used to heat the building when the water is warmer than the outside air.
Is this something that has been done before to comply with EAc4?
Thanks for a response,
//Erik
Scott West
Mechanical EngineerHKS
5 thumbs up
November 4, 2015 - 9:24 am
Erik,
There is always the compliance path of not using vapor-compression cycle refrigerants. You are essentially getting cooling output without requiring a refrigeration cycle so this path should certainly qualify under EAc4. Even if you're in a location that requires a conventional HFC heat pump to boost the output of the system during certain times of the year, your ratio of refrigerant charge to cooling output could still be adequate to pass the credit. I have not attempted LEED compliance with this arrangement but it's analogous to an open-loop geothermal system and I don't think the reviewers would take issue with it for this credit.