Thermal response tests conducted to assess the subsurface thermal conductivity for the design of ground-coupled heat pump systems require a power source of about 7–12kW to heat water circulating in a ground heat exchanger. This high power is commonly supplied with a fuel-fired generator, which...

The Kelvin line-source equation, used to analyze thermal response tests, describes conductive heat transfer in a homogeneous medium with a constant temperature at infinite boundaries. The equation is based on assumptions that are valid for most ground-coupled heat pump environments with the...