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 around the work at hand, so the window shown in the figure below is the GHE one. Several things follow from this arrangement and are worth knowing from the start: each module is licensed separately and the licence that applies is the one of the module currently active; the project sheet is common to the three, so a project keeps one identity whichever module works on it; and the panels shared between modules, such as the heat carrier fluid, change meaning with the module and carry their own help page.

The three modules also chain naturally. A thermal response test interpreted in TRT yields the ground thermal conductivity and the borehole thermal resistance that GHE needs; the borehole field designed in GHE is what GLN then balances hydraulically. Nothing forces that order — each module stands on its own — but a complete project usually travels it.

Activating a professional licence - GHE Analysis runs in demonstration mode until a valid licence code is submitted. 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. Paste the licence code you received after purchase into the box below the table and click Activate: a code activates the module it was issued for, or a Suite code activates every module at once. Licence codes 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 allocate more screen space to the element you are currently reviewing — for example, users may enlarge the chart area or expand the base map to improve the ease and precision of interactive borehole manipulation. This is particularly useful when working on a single screen.

Numerical input. The easiest way to modify numerical values is by using the mouse scroll wheel. Hover over any value field and roll the wheel to increment or decrement 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.