Ground-coupled

Ground-coupled heat pump systems for commercial/institutional buildings have now successfully been introduced in China, even in cold climate regions. Measured seasonal average COPs range from 3.1 in cold regions to 3.3 in milder regions. Few projects have been realised yet, but plans exist for new installations in metropolitan areas and for the Olympics in 2008 in Beijing. Problems encountered in China include lengthy borehole drilling and installation processes, lack of suitable water-source heat pump products and limited availability of appropriate equipment and qualified installation personnel.
As for Europe, ground-coupled heat pumps are mainly applied as heatingonly systems. Heat source systems include bedrock, ground, sea and lake water, groundwater, combinations of these sources and ventilation air. Figure 24 shows countries with significant sales of ground-coupled heat pumps (the first number represents million of inhabitants, the second number the heat pump sales per