Knowledge base

Welcome to the knowledge base of GHEtool Cloud. Below you can find all the information about the cloud platform, tutorials, FAQ’s and general articles in the borefield domain. You can leave your email behind to subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Physics
25/03/2025

Thermal behaviour of borefields (part 1): Borehole thermal resistance

In order to design feasible and well-functioning geothermal borefields, it is important to understand the thermal behaviour of the system. In this article, we will look at the effective borehole thermal resistance as a means to model the short-term thermal behaviour of borefields.

Tutorial
18/03/2025

Passive and active cooling for an office building

Combining passive and active cooling in your geothermal borefield allows you to take advantage of the best of both worlds. On the one hand, you can benefit from highly sustainable and efficient passive (or free) cooling, while on the other, you can reduce investment costs through an optimised active cooling design. This article demonstrates how you can use GHEtool to implement this intelligent combination!

Hydraulics
10/03/2025

Pressure drop and pump energy in GHEtool Cloud

For an efficient borefield design, you have to pay close attention to both the pressure drop and the pump energy consumption. In this article, we will explore the latest additions to GHEtool Cloud to help you with the hydraulic design of your borefield.

Methods
04/03/2025

Combined active cooling and passive cooling (part 1)

With borefields, you can have passive cooling, but sizing your borefield this way is rather expensive. Therefore, the option to use active cooling is sometimes proposed to reduce the investment cost. However, this increases electricity consumption compared to passive cooling. This article investigates whether and how it is possible to design a borefield for active cooling while maximising the use of passive cooling.

Hydraulics, Physics
24/02/2025

The importance of pressure drop in borefield design

Pressure drop is an important but often overlooked parameter in the hydraulic design of borefields. In this article, we explore what pressure drop is, what factors contribute to it, and why it is crucial to consider this parameter when designing a borefield.

Physics, Tutorial
17/02/2025

Ground properties for borefield design

Accurate borefield sizing relies heavily on having the correct ground properties. Since geothermal energy systems work by exchanging energy with the ground, obtaining precise ground data is essential for a well-designed system. In this article, we explore the key ground parameters needed for calculations in GHEtool Cloud.

Tutorial, FAQ
11/02/2025

Enter an EED project into GHEtool Cloud

How do you compare a calculation with Earth Energy Designer (EED) to a calculation with GHEtool Cloud? Both tools have different models and use slightly different import parameters. In this article, we will show you how to convert an EED project to a project in GHEtool Cloud and discuss the main differences you can expect between the two tools.

Physics
04/02/2025

Borefield quadrants

Insight is crucial for an accurate borefield design. Borefields are inherently complex due to numerous design parameters and uncertainties. In this article, we introduce the concept of borefield quadrants— a framework that can help you analyse your borefield design and better understand our upcoming articles on borefield physics.

Tutorial
28/01/2025

How to design with tilted boreholes?

When there is limited space to drill a borefield, it can be beneficial to design your borefields with certain tilted boreholes. GHEtool Cloud is one of the few borefield software solutions that allow you to design your borefields with tilted boreholes, and in this article, we go into detail about the definitions used when entering your borefield design into the tool.

Tutorial
21/01/2025

Hybrid systems (part 3) – A case with GHEtool Cloud

Hybrid systems and especially hybrid geothermal systems are a proven and efficient way to sustainably heat and cool your buildings. By combining intelligent borefield design with other technologies (like an air-to-water heat pump or solar thermal collectors) you can get the best performance of your total HVAC system.

Methods
14/01/2025

Hybrid systems (part 2) – design methodology

Hybrid systems offer a promising solution for tackling the increasing complexity of geothermal projects. This article explores different design methodologies to size a hybrid geothermal system for either maximum power or maximum energy.

General
07/01/2025

Hybrid systems (part 1) – geothermal potential

Hybrid systems present a compelling solution to address the increasing complexity of geothermal projects. But what exactly are they? And how does this concept intertwine with geothermal potential?

Hydraulics, Tutorial
16/12/2024

Hydraulic design: boreholes in series or parallel

The hydraulic design of your borefield—specifically the decision to place your boreholes in series, parallel, or a combination of both—can significantly impact the total required borehole meters. This article will guide you through how to define the different hydraulic design options in GHEtool Cloud.

Tutorial
09/12/2024

Automated reporting in under 5 minutes

Reporting is becoming increasingly important, but it can be very time-consuming. Not anymore! In this article, discover how automated reporting with GHEtool Cloud can save you hours!

Hydraulics, Physics, FAQ
02/12/2024

The Reynolds number: laminar or turbulent flow?

The borehole equivalent thermal resistance is a rather important parameter in the design of borefields, and it is significantly influenced by the Reynolds number. But what is this number exactly? And what has it to do with laminar or turbulent flows?

Physics, Tutorial, FAQ
25/11/2024

How to interpret temperature plots?

Temperature plots are at the center of good borefield design. This article tells you all you need to know about these graphs.

General
06/11/2024

Earth Energy Designer versus GHEtool Cloud

In this article, we will discuss the differences between Earth Energy Designer (EED) and GHEtool Cloud. We will go into detail about the functionalities of both tools and the accuracy of the results.

General
06/11/2024

Borefield design software

Check out the article for more information on why to use borefield design software instead of rules of thumb for your next borefield project.

Article idea box

Do you have a specific question w.r.t. the design of borefields with GHEtool Cloud? Let us know and we’ll see if we can make an article out of it!