Study on an advanced borehole heat exchanger for ground source heat pump operating in volcanic island: Case study of Jeju island, South Korea

An advanced borehole heat exchanger significantly outperforms conventional designs on volcanic islands. In Jeju, South Korea, researchers demonstrated that their novel system achieves 63.9 kW of heat capacity—160% higher than high-density polyethylene (HDPE) exchangers—and peaks at 94 kW for heat gain, compared to just 21 kW for HDPE. The study tested performance by circulating water at varying temperatures through both systems under identical flow conditions (180 L/min). This innovation addresses regulatory limitations on traditional borehole heat exchangers in volcanic regions, offering a scalable solution for ground source heat pumps in such environments.

Kim, J. W., Kim, Y.-M., Ko, Y. J., Chen, Q., Xin, C., & Oh, S. J. (2022). Study on an advanced borehole heat exchanger for ground source heat pump operating in volcanic island: Case study of Jeju island, South Korea. Frontiers in Built Environment, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2022.1061760