Comparative Energy Performance between a Geothermal Heat Pump System and an Air-to-water Heat Pump System for Heating and Cooling in Typical Conditions of the European Mediterranean Coast

Ground Coupled Heat Pump (GCHP) is a well-known technology that has been used for over 50 years. However its market penetration, in particular in Europe, is still small. In those European countries in which GCHP are most popular, climatic conditions are such that by far most of the demand is for space heating, whereas air conditioning is rarely required. Therefore experience with GCHP in Europe refers mostly to heat pumps operating in heating mode. However with the ongoing proliferation of GCHP technology into southern Europe, in particular in Italy and Western Turkey, the double use for heating and cooling is becoming increasingly important. In this sense, implementation of this technology to cooling dominated applications in mild and hot climates is still in the early stages.