Refurbishment of a Social Interest Building in Mexico Using Earth-to-Air Heat Exchangers

The refurbishment of a social interest building using Earth-to-Air Heat Exchanger (EAHE) was studied in representative dry climatic conditions of Mexico (dry, very dry, temperate, and sub-temperate). A simulation method that uses both computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and building energy simulation (BES) was used to analyze the influence of the EAHE on the indoor conditions of a room. First, CFD simulations of the EAHE were performed using climatic data and soil properties of the four representative cities, and then the results were loaded into the TRNSYS software to estimate the indoor air temperature and the building room’s thermal loads. When connected to a building room on a warm day, the EAHE reduced the indoor air temperature by a factor ranging between 1.7 and 3.2 °C, while on a cold day, the EAHE increased the indoor air temperature of the room by between 1.0 and 1.9 °C. On the other hand, the EAHE reduced the daily cooling load of the room by a factor between 2% and 6%. The EAHE also reduced the daily heating load by between 0.3% and 11%. Thus, EAHE as a refurbishment technology can benefit social interest buildings in Mexico.