Geothermal Systems In Offices And Commercial Buildings

For applications in the commercial sector, large borehole heat exchanger (BHE) fields or ground- water wells are the preferred groundside alterna- tive. While BHE are feasible virtually everywhere, and promise maintenance-free operation, their individual capacity is limited, resulting in huge BHE fields for systems with high heating/cooling demand (see table below). Groundwater wells, on the other hand, require specific geological site conditions and diligent managing of the wells, but can deliver much higher thermal output per well. So for large installations, ground water use is a favorable option.