Thermal Response Testing for Ground Source Heat Pump Systems – Some History
When designing ground heat exchangers used with ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems, a critical design property is the thermal conductivity of the ground. For larger ground heat exchanger installations, where knowledge of the ground thermal properties can help avoid undersizing or oversizing of ground heat exchangers, it is now common practice to measure the conductivity with a thermal response test (TRT). This article takes a historical perspective on the development of mobile TRT equipment and analysis procedures.