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, Tutorial
26/08/2025

Create hourly load profiles in seconds

All advanced methods in GHEtool require an hourly load profile, which is typically not available in the early design stages. However, it is precisely in this early design and feasibility phase that concepts are decided upon and that a deeper knowledge of the geothermal potential is useful. Today we solved this by letting you create an hourly demand profile in seconds!

Tutorial
19/08/2025

Analyse TRTs with GHEtool Cloud

In situ measurements, such as with a thermal response test (or TRT for short), are an essential part of geothermal borefield design. In today's article, we introduce a new feature to analyse these TRTs directly within GHEtool Cloud, streamlining your design process and making it easier than ever to design borefields with confidence.

General, Tutorial
12/08/2025

Getting started with GHEtool (Summer 2025)

In this article we give a quick overview of all the functionalities of GHEtool Cloud as they are available in August 2025. The goal is to show what the possibilities are, how you can get started and where you can find more information related to specific methods.

Tutorial
05/08/2025

Automated reporting with GHEtool (Summer 2025)

Reporting is becoming increasingly important for both drilling companies handling numerous smaller projects and engineering firms managing a few larger projects with multiple design variations. Therefore, automated reporting has always been a key feature in GHEtool Cloud, and thanks to the feedback from our community, we were able to make it even better for you! In this article, we discuss our renewed reporting functionality, making it easier than ever to create professional reports in seconds!

Tutorial
29/07/2025

Better insights with hourly data

We have already used hourly data implicitly in some other articles on hybrid design and active and passive cooling, but we have never really discussed the benefits compared to monthly load simulations. In this article, we discuss the insights you can gain when working with hourly load data.

Exercise
22/07/2025

Exercise on designing a borefield for a single building

In this exercise, we will investigate how you can design a borefield for a single-family building. The goal is to learn the difference between designing for the heating or cooling demand and to see the difference in required borehole length when working with either active or passive cooling.

General
15/07/2025

Why should I install a ground source heat pump?

Heat pumps are becoming increasingly popular, but when it comes to choosing between a ground source heat pump and an air source heat pump, there is quite a lot of confusion. In this article, we will highlight the advantages of opting for a ground source heat pump and will address some of the common misconceptions.

Hybrid systems, Tutorial
08/07/2025

Simulating hybrid systems with GHEtool

Up until now, GHEtool offered the possibility to optimise hybrid systems, but today we are introducing a whole new simulation module. With both simulation and optimisation now available, you have the complete toolbox at your disposal to design better, more efficient hybrid geothermal systems.

Physics
01/07/2025

Modelling the turbocollector

As of today, the Turbocollector from Muovitech is available in GHEtool Cloud. In this article, we will shed light on the mathematical model behind the Turbocollector and explore the concept of turbulence more generally, based on a recent paper by Niklas Hidman.

Tutorial
24/06/2025

Estimating the building demand

One of the key input parameters for any geothermal simulation is the building demand for heating and cooling. Sometimes, these values are known based on detailed simulations or measurements, but more often—particularly in the early stages—they need to be estimated. This article sheds some light on the topic and explores several approaches to addressing this challenge.

Exercise
17/06/2025

Exercise on sensitivities in borefield design

In this exercise, we will investigate the design of a geothermal borefield for an office building. The aim is to gain insight into the effects of the geothermal temperature gradient and to understand which parameters are particularly important when designing a borefield for a building with a high cooling demand.

General, Tutorial
10/06/2025

Simultaneity factor

The simultaneity factor is an important element in the design of collective borefields for multiple users. Think, for example, of apartment buildings with dozens of apartments connected to a central borefield. Should you take the entire installed peak power into account or not? Read the article to discover everything you need to know!

Hydraulics, Tutorial
03/06/2025

Advanced pressure drop calculations with GHEtool

We extended the pressure drop calculation capabilities of GHEtool Cloud to work with manifolds, main headers and Tichelmann connections, so you can model 99% of your designs.

Physics, Tutorial
27/05/2025

Higher accuracy of simulations with varying fluid properties

This article introduces a breakthrough in the accuracy of geothermal simulations by allowing the fluid properties to change over time, leading to more accurate and feasible geothermal borefields. These changes are now the default in GHEtool Cloud and available to everyone.

Physics, Tutorial
20/05/2025

Sizing with a thermal response test (TRT)

Thermal response tests (or TRTs) are measurements that can be used to fine-tune your geothermal borefield simulation to achieve the most accurate results. In this article, we’ll discuss what a TRT is and how it can be used to determine the undisturbed ground temperature, ground thermal conductivity, and effective borehole thermal resistance.

Methods, Physics
13/05/2025

Gradient error – calculate required borehole depth (part 2)

When using GHEtool Cloud to calculate the required borehole depth, you may encounter a gradient error. In this article, we’ll explain the background of this error, why it occurs, and how you can work around it.

General, Tutorial
06/05/2025

Sankey diagrams: visualising the energy flow

Sankey diagrams are ideal for visualising how things flow through a system—whether it's money, materials, or energy. That’s why we’ve added them by default as a result in every GHEtool Cloud simulation. Read the article to learn more about the insights you can gain from these diagrams.

Physics
29/04/2025

Modelling the separatus heat exchanger

Separatus is a novel type of heat exchanger that aims at reducing the investment cost of the geothermal borefield and you can calculate its performance using GHEtool! This article explains the model development of this solution.

Methods, Physics
22/04/2025

Calculate required borehole depth

Calculating the required borehole depth is one of the most essential methods within the domain of borefield design. In this article, we will give you an overview of the different methods that are available in literature and we will discuss their advantages and disadvantages.

Tutorial
15/04/2025

Import coordinates from AutoCAD into GHEtool Cloud

Within GHEtool, you have the highest flexibility for borefield design. In this article, we show you how to export coordinates from a DWG file using AutoCAD and import them directly into GHEtool Cloud, allowing you to create the most accurate representation of your borefield in just a few minutes!

Methods, Hybrid systems, Tutorial
08/04/2025

Hybrid systems (part 4) – optimise for balance

Designing hybrid systems is not trivial, as it requires finding the right balance between installed geothermal power, system imbalance, and overall performance. Within GHEtool, there were already two optimisation methods available for designing such systems: optimise for power and optimise for energy. Today, we’re introducing a third option to help you design even better hybrid systems!

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!