Thermal response tests are the industry standard for borehole heat exchanger design in ground-coupled heat pump systems. Two previously conducted thermal response tests in phase 2 of the district-scale ground-coupled heat pump system at Ball State University (BSU) measured a bulk “formation” thermal conductivity K _T between 2.6 and 3.0 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹. Meanwhile, K _T from a core recovered near BSU averages 2.2 ± 0.006 and 3.5 ± 0.086 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ for dry and water-saturated samples, respectively. The range in K _T data from saturated samples (1.8–7.2 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹) leads to the conclusion that thermal response tests do not capture the vertical and horizontal heterogeneity of heat flux in layered sedimentary aquifers.

Characterization of the hydrogeologic environment can be one tool to tune district-scale ground-coupled heat pump systems to the specific on-site conditions that may influence the magnitude and mode of heat transfer. At BSU, temperature (T) changes in the groundwater environment at the active phase 1 field through October 2013 support this notion. After constant heat loading, a T increase of 14–18 °C was observed in the central monitoring well. The vertical structure in the T profile of this well may correlate to “thermofacies.” For example, a T spike between 14 and 19.5 m in depth may correspond to a sand and gravel zone in the surficial glacial till, and a T dip at a depth of 70 m agrees with the position of the Brainard Shale—zones of higher permeability and lower measured K _T (2.0 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹), respectively. Higher measured K _T zones, such as the low siliciclastic Silurian Salamonie Limestone and the Ordovician Whitewater Formation, may be target thermofacies for heat deposition and extraction. In contrast, sand and gravel zones within the glacial till may allow for significant thermal loading; however, groundwater advection may reduce the fraction of recoverable thermal load.