Current status of ground-source heat pumps in China

As a renewable energy technology, the ground-source heat pump (GSHP) technologies have increasingly attracted world-wide attention due to their advantages of energy efficiency and environmental friendliness. This paper presents Chinese research and application on GSHP followed by descriptions of patents. The policies related to GSHP are also introduced and analyzed. With the support of Chinese government, several new heat transfer models and two new GSHP systems (named pumping and recharging well (PRW) and integrated soil cold storage and ground-source heat pump (ISCS&GSHP) system) have been developed by Chinese researchers. The applications of GSHP systems have been growing rapidly since the beginning of the 21st century with financial incentives and supportive government policies. However, there are still several challenges for the application of GSHP systems in large scale. This paper raises relevant suggestions for overcoming the existing and potential obstacles. In addition, the developing and applying prospects of GSHP systems in China are also discussed.