Welcome to this design course for shallow geothermal borefields! The fact that you are visiting this page probably means that you are either new to borefield design and want to learn more about it, or you are already experienced in the field and are searching for specific answers. Either way, you will definitely find what you are looking for in this course.
About of the course
When it comes to borefield design, there is not much information out there. Some universities offer classes which are sometimes very theoretical and not very practical. On the other hand, there is hands-on knowledge passed down within companies. The goal of this course is to establish a baseline for designing borefields in 2026 using the latest models and insights, with a strong focus on hands-on learning.
Content
In this course, we will start with the fundamentals of geothermal design, covering topics such as the inputs, how to define them, and their importance. We will then progress to the thermal and hydraulic design of complex hybrid systems and fifth-generation district heating networks. Based on our current plans, this will be done in ten different parts, released over ten months. The preliminary structure of the course is as follows:
- January: Why borefield design matters and what are the required inputs
- February: An introduction to borefield physics and our first design with GHEtool using traditional assumptions
- March: Designing better borefields using state-of-the-art borefield physics
- April: Borefields and their hydraulic design
- May: Insights from sizing borefields with different design choices
- June: Innovative products in the borefield industry
- July: Summer break
- August: How to size a borefield (using GHEtool)
- September: How to design larger, collective (housing) projects
- October: Designing complex hybrid geothermal systems (part 1)
- November: Designing complex hybrid geothermal systems with regeneration (part 2)
- December: Exam?
A minimum of mathematics
When looking for information on geothermal models, it’s easy to get lost in a maze of complicated mathematics, endless papers and different assumptions. The aim of this course is to present the theory to you with a minimum of mathematics. Of course, we will need to use some formulas to explain key concepts, but we will keep these to an absolute minimum.
The focus of this course is reasoning and insight, regardless of your theoretical background.
Hands-on
Having the theoretical background of the thermal (and hydraulic) behaviour of geothermal systems is one thing, but to apply this knowledge to your own project is another. That is why, in the course, we will focus on bridging the gap between theory and practice by providing you with recognisable examples and how you can use GHEtool Cloud to design it. That way, the sometimes abstract theory will become clear in the hands-on examples.
Exercises and quiz questions
At the end of every chapter, we will set you some quizzes and exercises that cover the content we have discussed. The idea is that by attempting to solve these exercises and questions yourself, you will become familiar with the topic. The answers will be provided the following month, but you are strongly encouraged to try to solve them yourself first.
Video lessons
As well as writing these chapters as a reference document for future use, there is a corresponding video lesson for every (sub)chapter on our YouTube channel. These lessons explain the key concepts and complement the written documentation.
Multilingual
To make this content accessible to a wide audience, state-of-the-art AI translation technology has been used to translate the course documents and corresponding video lessons. Please note that all the content was originally written in English, which should serve as the reference version if anything seems inaccurate in a translated version. If you notice any mistakes in the translation, please let us know via info@ghetool.eu.
Questions?
We cannot promise that you won’t have any questions while you’re taking this course. Besides, borefield design is a very complicated matter involving thermal and hydraulic aspects. As I have said many times during my training sessions, it is a subject that requires a good night’s sleep to let everything sink in. After a couple of months, we will probably organise some Q&A sessions, but we will give more information about this later.
About the author
The course material and video lessons on YouTube are the work of Wouter Peere. He wrote his master’s thesis at KU Leuven in 2019 on the design of hybrid geothermal systems, working alongside the renowned consultancy firm Boydens Engineering (which has since been acquired by Sweco). It was during this research that his interest in borefield design emerged.
When GHEtool Cloud was released at the end of 2024, he started writing weekly articles for our knowledge base to share our expertise on designing shallow geothermal systems. One year, 400+ pages and 10+ hours of video content later, this knowledge base has become the world’s largest source of information on borefield design. As well as writing popular scientific articles for the IEA HPT Magazine, Installatie Magazine and Fachzeitschrift Geothermische Energie, Wouter has presented numerous articles at various scientific conferences.
About GHEtool Cloud
This course uses GHEtool Cloud for all examples and exercises. GHEtool is a recent innovation in the field of geothermal design, having been released at the end of 2024. Since then, our user base has grown to more than 80 companies across Europe, with over 50,000 designs being created each year.
GHEtool is not just software; it is also a community of professional users, researchers, and industry partners who are pushing the boundaries of how to create efficient and feasible geothermal borefields. By following this course, you will gain up-to-date insights into the latest scientific research, models and the tool that brings it all together, ready to apply in your daily work!