Exergoeconomic analysis of geothermal district heating systems: A case study

An exergoeconomic study of geothermal district heating systems through mass, energy, exergy and cost accounting analyses is reported and a case study is presented for the Salihli geothermal district heating system (SGDHS) in Turkey to illustrate the present method. The relations between capital costs and thermodynamic losses for the system components are also investigated. Thermodynamic loss rate-to-capital cost ratios are used to show that, for the devices and the overall system, a systematic correlation appears to exist between capital cost and exergy loss (total or internal), but not between capital cost and energy loss or external exergy loss. Furthermore, a parametric study is conducted to determine how the ratio of thermodynamic loss rate to capital cost changes with reference temperature and to develop a correlation that can be used for practical analyses. The correlations may imply that devices in successful district heating systems such as the SGDHS are configured so as to achieve an overall optimal design, by appropriately balancing the thermodynamic (exergy-based) and economic (cost) characteristics of the overall systems and their devices. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.