Stop & Shop Team: Whitney McMackin, Albara Abrams, Elizabeth Amadei
2009-2010: In collaboration with Stop & Shop supermarkets, this student team designed a geothermal heat pump system (GHPS) to heat and cool the sales floor of a projected prototype store in Massachusetts. GHPSs are a sustainable alternative to conventional systems used for space heating and cooling because the technology uses the ground or a water body as a heat source or sink.
The team divided the project into four main components: an assessment of existing systems, system type selection, system design, and an economic analysis. After evaluating existing GHPSs, the team prepared a Technology Assessment Report, which included a set of technical feasibility flowcharts. Based on this work, the team selected the vertical closed loop system type and designed it through seven main phases: borefield sizing, input sensitivity analysis, borefield layout, heat pump and duct layout, pipe sizing, head loss calculations, and pumping station specification. The team also conducted a capital cost analysis, an operating cost comparison, and an environmental impact analysis.
The team delivered their design specifications and economic analysis to their liaisons, in addition to recommendations for design modifications to reduce the payback period. Stop & Shop will evaluate the team’s design and recommendations and assess the economic feasibility of implementing a GHPS in this or a future store.