Quick start

One application, three modules - GHE Analysis is one of the three modules of the Analysis Suite, which are installed together and share a single window. The three buttons at the left of the toolbar switch between them, and the button that is lit tells you which module is active:

• TRT — interpretation of a thermal response test, which measures the ground properties this design relies on.
• GHE — design and simulation of a ground heat exchanger field, the subject of this manual.
• GLN — design of the hydraulic network that connects it.

Switching module rebuilds the analysis tree, the panels and the console; the window shown in the figure below is the GHE one. Each module is licensed separately, and the licence that applies is that of the active module. The project sheet is shared by the three modules, so a project keeps one identity. Panels shared between modules, such as the heat carrier fluid, change meaning with the module and have their own help page.

The three modules also follow one another: a thermal response test interpreted in TRT gives the ground thermal conductivity and the borehole thermal resistance used by GHE, and the borehole field designed in GHE is then balanced hydraulically in GLN. Each module can also be used on its own.

Activating a professional licence - GHE Analysis runs in demonstration mode until a valid licence is loaded. To activate the professional version, open License Agreement from the main menu and accept the end-user licence agreement. This opens the Licenses panel, a table listing every module of the Analysis Suite with its current status — Licensed, Demo, or Expired — and, once licensed, its expiry date. Click Open .lic file… and select the licence file received after purchase: a licence activates the module it was issued for, and a Suite licence activates every module. Licences are available at gheanalysis.com. The licence is validated online each time the software starts; a short offline grace period keeps a previously activated licence working if no connection is available, after which the module falls back to demonstration mode.

A typical analysis follows the steps of the analysis tree, from top to bottom. A first pass takes only a few minutes:

• 1. Describe the project — enter the project and client information, validate the site address, and set the currency.
• 2. Provide the thermal loads — type, paste or import the building's hourly or monthly heating and cooling loads.
• 3. Set the heat pump performance — choose constant values, manufacturer or performance data, and set the temperature limits.
• 4. Choose the heat carrier fluid — select the fluid and its antifreeze concentration.
• 5. Lay out the ground heat exchanger — position the boreholes, optionally on a georeferenced base map.
• 6. Design the borehole — set the pipe, grout and geometry to minimise R_b^*.
• 7. Size and review — use the sizing tool for a starting length, then read the console and charts to confirm the entering fluid temperature stays within limits over the simulation horizon.

At any step, the help button gives guidance on the current panel — the same content forms the chapters of this manual.

Panel layout. GHE Analysis uses a resizable split layout. Drag the dividers between panes to give more room to the element you are working on, for example the charts, or the base map while placing boreholes.

Numerical input. Numerical values are most easily changed with the mouse wheel: hover over a field and roll the wheel to change the value one step at a time. The ↑ / ↓ arrow keys work the same way when a field has focus, and you can always type a value directly. In the 3D borehole layout and groundwater flow views, combining the wheel with Shift or Ctrl also adjusts the scene orientation.