Abstract:
Pakistan is facing chronic energy shortage for the last two decades. Enormous
amount of electricity, natural gas and oil is being utilized for cooling and heating of
buildings. Fossil fuels mostly imported, put huge burden on developmental budget of the
country. Moreover, the fossil fuels used in the conventional heating and cooling systems
result in greenhouse effect, causing global warming. This research concentrates on
comparative study of the existing heating ventilation air conditioning (HVAC) system
being operated on natural gas and diesel oil, at the Islamabad Campus of the Bahria
University with the latest air conditioning technology i.e. geothermal heat pump. This
research reveals that GHPs are more energy efficient with low operating and maintenance
cost then the present installed air conditioning system. Although, the initial capital cost of
geothermal heat pump is relatively higher but return on investment (ROI) period is
smaller than that of Conventional HVAC systems. Along with energy saving the GHPs
can also contribute to almost negligible amount of CO2 emission, therefore playing
important role in global warming reduction. This research proposes an alternative heating
and cooling system for Islamabad Campus of the Bahria University.
