States there are many ground-source heat pump installations in commercial and institutional buildings in the USA and Canada, but little information is available about their merits, design details, ground heat exchanger design and sizing, integration with traditional building systems and performance. ASHRAE RP-863 is gathering, analysing and documenting such information that should be useful for consulting engineers. Describes results from 12 of the case studies under preparation.

KEYWORDS: year 1996, Heat pumps, USA, Canada, engineers, soil heat pumps, case studies, operations