GROUND SOURCE HEAT PUMPS AS COOLING SYSTEM FOR HOTELS IN THE TROPICS - MAURITIUS

Abstract

This dissertation is looking into how Ground Source Heat Pumps can be used to reduce the energy consumption of the energy loads of 5-star hotels in the tropics. According to on-site studies, total cooling loads (chiller plant and pumps) account for 35-40% of the total electrical consumption of the hotel which makes it the more demanding sector in terms of energy requirement. Reducing significantly this sector by replacing the existing system by a more energy efficient technology will bring consequent savings in terms of energy costs and carbon dioxide emission reduction. Ground Source Heat Pumps have different systems, within which an amalgam of variations is available to adapt best to the site properties for an optimum performance. For this reason a specific destination, Mauritius, was chosen. Restricting the research to 5-star hotels also narrows downs the sites’ settings, hotel layout, climatic conditions, financial resources available and underground conditions of the possible sites. GSHP systems have the characteristic of being much quieter than conventional systems and also to have less space and land requirements . These characteristics will open up new opportunities to the architecture, interrelationship and laying out of the spaces in 5-star hotels. This academic research is also pushing the idea further in trying to find ways how other systems could benefit, through the use of its by-products, to fulfill the hotel’s other needs. The main by-products being: heat, salt and water. The hot outcoming salt water can be first used to pre-heat the hot water supply of the hotel or provide a warm touch to the swimming pools. The output salt water could then be pumped through a desalination plant to reduce the hotel’s water demand.