A Benefit And Cost Analysis Of A Ground To Air Heat Transfer System (GAHT®)

A media res BCA report was conducted on a Ground to Air Heat Transfer System (GAHT®) currently being Constructed by Appalachian State University. The GAHT® system was purchased from Ceres Greenhouse Solutions and was found to be identical to Closed Loop Earth to Air Heat Transfer Systems (EAHTS) in the literature. EAHTS utilize the soil’s temperature beneath or around a structure to heat or cool an interior space by pumping air in underground tunnels or pipes buried underground. EAHTS were found to have higher installation costs yet lower operational costs than the other heating alternatives. No study has been done to the knowledge of the author that investigated the installation of an EAHTS from a BCA perspective and that here was little information available to prospective consumers about the profitability of an investment in EAHTS technology. This BCA focused solely on the heating ability of the GAHT® system. The study concluded that net benefits of the GAHT are generally positive, but this result is dependent on many variables. When assuming a 0% discount rate, Net Benefits of the GAHT® system are $6,571.20 with a payback period of 12.3 years and when assuming a 7% discount rate Net Benefits were $-1,434.33 with no payback period within the 20 year time horizon of the study. The study also found a wide variation in these calculations based on the assumed inputs, ranging from a payback period of 39.34 to 7.27 years, and a net benefit of $(-)5,138.00 to $18,280.80. The BCA report created information that prospective consumers can use while considering investments in EAHTS technology. Future areas of research include a deeper investigation in the cooling abilities of the GAHT® system.