Ground-source heat pump systems (GSHPs), also known as geothermal or geoexchange heat pump systems, are becoming more widely accepted in the commercial building sector. Existing design manuals have greatly advanced the state of the art for design. However, they do not adequately cover project implementation and operation stages. As more systems enter service, there have been scattered problems. ASHRAE technical committee TC 6.8 has directed efforts to a special project (SP-94) to produce a commissioning, preventive maintenance, and troubleshooting guide for commercial GSHP systems to serve as a companion guide to the existing design manuals. Guidance in these areas will ensure that GSHP systems deliver the energy and maintenance savings that are characteristic of these systems. The purpose of this paper is to report on the guide’s development and describe the scope and present examples of chapter content.

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