[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":1255},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-index:en":3},[4,332,623],{"id":5,"title":6,"author":7,"body":8,"cardImage":303,"category":304,"date":305,"description":14,"draft":306,"excerpt":303,"extension":307,"footerCta":308,"hero":313,"locale":322,"meta":323,"navigation":324,"path":325,"seo":326,"slug":329,"stem":330,"__hash__":331},"blog\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fground-source-vs-air-source-heat-pump.md","Ground Source Vs Air Source Heat Pump","Planeto Team",{"type":9,"value":10,"toc":288},"minimark",[11,15,18,23,31,38,41,49,53,56,64,70,73,76,80,83,86,89,92,96,101,104,107,110,117,120,148,151,155,158,161,165,168,172,175,207,211,217,223,229,233,241,246,249,257,264,272,278,283],[12,13,14],"p",{},"Ask an installer which heat pump you should fit and you will usually get the one\nthey fit most. Ask the internet and you will get a list of bullet points that\ncarefully avoids the only question that matters. That question is not which\ntechnology is better, since ground source wins almost every technical\ncomparison, but where the extra money stops being worth it for your building.",[12,16,17],{},"That crossover point is real, it is calculable, and it sits in a different place\ndepending on four things: how long you will own the building, whether you need\ncooling, what your site allows, and what your emitters run at. Here is how to\nfind it.",[19,20,22],"h2",{"id":21},"the-difference-in-one-paragraph-each","The difference in one paragraph each",[12,24,25,26,30],{},"An ",[27,28,29],"strong",{},"air-source heat pump"," extracts heat from outdoor air using an outdoor unit\n(a fan and a heat exchanger, usually mounted against a wall or standing in the\ngarden) and upgrades it with a compressor. It is straightforward to install,\nneeds no excavation, and can typically be commissioned in a couple of days.",[12,32,33,34,37],{},"A ",[27,35,36],{},"ground-source heat pump"," extracts heat from the ground, via vertical\nboreholes typically 50 to 300 metres deep, or horizontal loops if you have the\nland. A water-glycol mixture circulates through sealed pipes, picks up heat from\nthe rock, and carries it to a heat pump indoors. There is no outdoor unit at\nall. The install involves a drilling rig and takes considerably longer.",[12,39,40],{},"Same principle, very different source. Everything below follows from that one\ndifference.",[42,43],"article-image",{":height":44,":width":45,"alt":46,"caption":47,"src":48},"404","763","A single building with an air-source outdoor unit beside it and a ground loop running beneath it","The visible difference: an air-source system puts a fan and a heat exchanger outside the building, a ground-source system puts everything underground.","\u002Fimg\u002Fproduct\u002FSingle-building.png",[19,50,52],{"id":51},"efficiency-the-gap-is-bigger-than-the-headline-numbers-suggest","Efficiency: the gap is bigger than the headline numbers suggest",[12,54,55],{},"Heat pumps are rated by seasonal performance factor (SPF): the heat delivered\nacross a year divided by the electricity consumed.",[57,58],"comparison-table",{":rows":59,"featureColLabel":60,"heading":61,"themName":62,"usName":63},"[{\"label\":\"Typical SPF (space heating)\",\"us\":\"4 to 5\",\"them\":\"2.5 to 3.5\",\"usWin\":true},{\"label\":\"Source temperature in January\",\"us\":\"8 to 14 °C\",\"them\":\"−5 to +5 °C\",\"usWin\":true},{\"label\":\"Source temperature in August\",\"us\":\"8 to 14 °C\",\"them\":\"25 to 35 °C\",\"usWin\":true},{\"label\":\"Performance on the coldest day\",\"us\":\"Unchanged\",\"them\":\"Lowest of the year\",\"usWin\":true},{\"label\":\"Defrost cycles\",\"us\":\"None\",\"them\":\"Yes, in cold damp weather\",\"usWin\":true},{\"label\":\"Installed cost, single house\",\"us\":\"2 to 3 times higher\",\"them\":\"Lowest of the two\"}]","","Ground source and air source, side by side","Air source","Ground source",[65,66,67],"blockquote",{},[12,68,69],{},"Figures are typical ranges for well-designed systems in temperate European\nclimates. Your numbers will depend on emitters, climate and design.",[12,71,72],{},"The averages understate the difference, because of when the gap appears. An\nair-source unit is least efficient precisely on the coldest morning of the year,\nwhen demand peaks. The source it is drawing from has got colder, the temperature\nlift it must achieve has got bigger, and in damp cold it periodically stops\nheating your house altogether to melt ice off its own coil. Ground temperature,\nby contrast, does not care what the weather is doing. The source you sized for\nin October is the source you have in February.",[12,74,75],{},"For the owner this shows up as a heating bill that is roughly 25 to 40% lower,\nand as a house that stays warm during the week everyone else's system is\nstruggling.",[19,77,79],{"id":78},"capital-cost-the-case-for-air-source","Capital cost: the case for air source",[12,81,82],{},"This is where air source wins, and it wins decisively.",[12,84,85],{},"Drilling is the dominant line in a ground-source budget and it scales with\nmetres, geology and site access. A ground-source installation for a single house\ncommonly runs two to three times the cost of an equivalent air-source system,\noccasionally more on a constrained urban plot where a rig has to work in a\ncourtyard. On a tight budget, or where the building will change hands within a\nfew years, that gap is difficult to argue away on running cost alone.",[12,87,88],{},"Payback of the extra investment through lower bills typically lands somewhere in\nthe 8 to 15 year range for a heating-only building. That is a long time, long\nenough that the decision usually hinges on something other than the energy bill.",[12,90,91],{},"Which brings us to the three things that actually move the decision.",[19,93,95],{"id":94},"what-actually-decides-it","What actually decides it",[97,98,100],"h3",{"id":99},"_1-cooling-changes-the-arithmetic-completely","1. Cooling changes the arithmetic completely",[12,102,103],{},"This is the asymmetry almost every comparison misses.",[12,105,106],{},"An air-source heat pump can cool. Run it in reverse and it becomes an air\nconditioner. But it cools the way an air conditioner does: the compressor runs,\nthe outdoor unit runs, it consumes serious electricity on the hottest\nafternoons, and it dumps heat into a street that is already too hot.",[12,108,109],{},"A ground-source system cools without a compressor at all. Warm water from the\nbuilding's floor or ceiling circuits is passed against the cold brine from the\nboreholes through a heat exchanger. Only a circulation pump runs. Delivering a\nunit of cooling this way typically costs a small fraction of what a compressor\nwould use, commonly cited as a twentieth to a fortieth.",[42,111],{":height":112,":width":113,"alt":114,"caption":115,"src":116},"712","1191","A borehole field sized in Planeto, showing the annual supply curve with both heating and cooling energy generation","The same borehole field delivers heating and cooling across the year, which is what makes the second use of the asset nearly free.","\u002Fimg\u002Fsolutions\u002Fthermal-energy-source-dimensioning\u002Fexcess-heatgeothermal-curves.jpg",[12,118,119],{},"Three consequences follow:",[121,122,123,130,136],"ul",{},[124,125,126,129],"li",{},[27,127,128],{},"Running cost."," Summer cooling is close to free. In a building with real\ncooling demand, this alone can halve the payback period of the ground-source\npremium.",[124,131,132,135],{},[27,133,134],{},"Regulation and planning."," Across much of Europe, active comfort cooling\nfaces scrutiny that passive geocooling does not: capacity limits in energy\ncodes, requirements to justify the need, restrictions on visible outdoor\nunits, boundary noise limits, and a tightening refrigerant regime. Owners who\nset out to install air conditioning frequently find the answer is no.\nGeothermal cooling often passes where a conventional system fails, because\nthere is no outdoor unit, no noise, and almost no electricity involved. (Rules\nvary considerably by country and municipality, so check your site.)",[124,137,138,141,142,147],{},[27,139,140],{},"System life."," Pushing summer heat into the ground regenerates it,\ncounteracting the slow temperature drift that heating-only borehole fields\nsuffer over decades. Cooling does not wear a ground-source system out. It\npreserves it. We cover this in depth in our guide to\n",[143,144,146],"a",{"href":145},"\u002Fblog\u002Fshallow-geothermal-heating-cooling-buildings\u002F","shallow geothermal heating and cooling",".",[12,149,150],{},"If your building needs cooling (and if it is well-insulated, modern, glazed, or\nhas top-floor flats, it probably does), the comparison stops being close.",[97,152,154],{"id":153},"_2-noise-neighbours-and-permission","2. Noise, neighbours and permission",[12,156,157],{},"An air-source outdoor unit makes noise. Not a lot, but continuously, outdoors,\nnear a boundary, at night in winter. In detached houses with space this is a\nnon-issue. In terraces, courtyards, dense urban streets and conservation areas\nit is frequently the issue: boundary noise limits and visual amenity rules are\nthe most common reason an air-source installation is refused or has to be\nrelocated somewhere less efficient.",[12,159,160],{},"A ground-source system has nothing outside. Nothing to see, nothing to hear,\nnothing to argue about. Where planning constraints are tight, this sometimes is\nnot an advantage so much as the only route to a heat pump at all.",[97,162,164],{"id":163},"_3-how-long-youll-hold-the-building","3. How long you'll hold the building",[12,166,167],{},"Payback periods of a decade only matter if you are there for the decade. For a\ndeveloper selling on completion, air source is usually the rational choice\nunless cooling or planning forces the issue. For an owner-occupier, a housing\ncooperative, or an institutional landlord holding for thirty years, the\narithmetic reverses, and the borehole itself is credited with a 50 to 100 year\nservice life, against 15 to 20 for an air-source outdoor unit exposed to the\nweather.",[19,169,171],{"id":170},"where-ground-source-simply-isnt-available","Where ground source simply isn't available",[12,173,174],{},"Honesty requires the reverse case. Ground source is off the table, or heavily\ncompromised, when:",[121,176,177,183,189,195,201],{},[124,178,179,182],{},[27,180,181],{},"You can't drill."," Drinking-water protection zones, certain geological\nformations, contaminated ground and some urban subsurface congestion make\nboreholes restricted or prohibited. Many regions publish admissibility maps;\ncheck yours before anything else.",[124,184,185,188],{},[27,186,187],{},"The plot is too small."," Boreholes need meaningful separation from each\nother and from boundaries, or they steal heat from one another.",[124,190,191,194],{},[27,192,193],{},"There's no rig access."," A drilling rig needs to physically reach the spot.",[124,196,197,200],{},[27,198,199],{},"The permit timeline doesn't fit."," Several months is normal. If the boiler\ndied last week, that is not the constraint you want.",[124,202,203,206],{},[27,204,205],{},"The emitters are high-temperature."," This one applies to both technologies,\nbut bites harder on the ground-source business case: if the building runs\nradiators at 65 to 70 °C, no heat pump will deliver its rated efficiency, and\nyou will have spent ground-source money for air-source performance. Fix the\nemitters first, or don't drill.",[19,208,210],{"id":209},"a-rough-decision-framework","A rough decision framework",[12,212,213,216],{},[27,214,215],{},"Choose air source"," if the building is heating-dominated, the budget is tight,\nyou're selling within a few years, the site can't be drilled, or you have\noutdoor space away from neighbours.",[12,218,219,222],{},[27,220,221],{},"Choose ground source"," if you need cooling, noise or planning rules block an\noutdoor unit, you're holding the building long-term, you already have or are\ninstalling low-temperature emitters, or (the case owners most often overlook)\nthere is more than one building.",[12,224,225,228],{},[27,226,227],{},"Consider a hybrid"," where peak heating demand is large but brief: a\nground-source system sized for the bulk of the year with a small backup for the\ncoldest hours is often cheaper than drilling for the 1% case.",[19,230,232],{"id":231},"the-case-owners-overlook-more-than-one-building","The case owners overlook: more than one building",[12,234,235,236,240],{},"If you own or are developing several buildings on one site, the comparison\nchanges again. Individual air-source units mean one outdoor unit per building,\neach sized for its own peak. A ",[143,237,239],{"href":238},"\u002Fsolutions\u002Flow-temperature-networks\u002F","shared ground\nloop"," serving all of them needs far less\ntotal capacity, because the buildings don't peak simultaneously, and because a\nbuilding that needs cooling can regenerate the ground for one that needs heat.\nThe plant room consolidates. The cost per building falls, sometimes sharply.",[42,242],{":height":44,":width":45,"alt":243,"caption":244,"src":245},"Several buildings connected to one shared low-temperature ground loop with a common borehole field","One shared loop instead of one outdoor unit per building: less total capacity, one plant room, and loads that offset each other.","\u002Fimg\u002Fproduct\u002FUrban-network.png",[12,247,248],{},"This is the point where the decision stops being a product comparison and\nbecomes a design problem, and where it is worth modelling properly before\ncommitting to anything.",[12,250,251,252,256],{},"That modelling is what Planeto does. Our platform, ",[143,253,255],{"href":254},"\u002Fproduct\u002F","Tessa",", brings\nbuilding demand, ground conditions, sources and costs into a single model, so\noptions like these can be built and compared in hours rather than weeks.",[42,258],{":height":259,":width":260,"alt":261,"caption":262,"src":263},"874","1598","Two energy supply scenarios compared side by side in Planeto on net present value, LCOE and IRR","Two scenarios, the same building stock: the comparison that decides the question is financial, not technical.","\u002Fimg\u002Ffeatures\u002Fcompare.png",[12,265,266,267,271],{},"And if you don't have a planning office engaged yet, our energy engineers can\n",[143,268,270],{"href":269},"\u002Fservices\u002Ffeasibility-pre-feasibility-studies\u002F","run the comparison with you",",\nor tell you straight away whether your site rules one of the options out.",[12,273,274],{},[143,275,277],{"href":276},"\u002Fproduct-demo\u002F?ref=blog-gshp-vs-ashp","Talk to our energy experts →",[279,280],"faq-section",{":items":281,"heading":282},"[{\"question\":\"Is a ground-source heat pump always more efficient than air source?\",\"answer\":\"In practice, yes. The ground is a warmer and far more stable source in winter. Typical SPFs are 4 to 5 against 2.5 to 3.5 for air source. The real question is whether the efficiency gain repays the drilling cost within your ownership horizon.\"},{\"question\":\"Can both types provide cooling?\",\"answer\":\"Both can, but very differently. Air source cools with a compressor, like air conditioning. Ground source can cool passively with only a circulation pump, at a small fraction of the electricity and with no outdoor unit, which matters both for running cost and for getting permission.\"},{\"question\":\"How much more does ground source cost?\",\"answer\":\"Commonly two to three times an air-source installation for a single house, driven almost entirely by drilling. The gap narrows in buildings with cooling demand and across multiple buildings on one site.\"},{\"question\":\"Does an air-source heat pump work in cold weather?\",\"answer\":\"Yes, modern units operate well below freezing, but efficiency falls as it gets colder and defrost cycles begin, so output is lowest exactly when demand is highest. Sizing has to account for this.\"},{\"question\":\"Which lasts longer?\",\"answer\":\"Boreholes are credited with 50 to 100 years and the ground-source heat pump itself with 20 to 25. An air-source outdoor unit typically lasts 15 to 20 years, being weather-exposed.\"}]","Frequently asked questions",[284,285],"cta-banner",{"heading":286,"secondary-label":287,"secondary-to":276},"Not sure which heat pump your building should have?","Talk to our energy experts",{"title":60,"searchDepth":289,"depth":289,"links":290},2,[291,292,293,294,300,301,302],{"id":21,"depth":289,"text":22},{"id":51,"depth":289,"text":52},{"id":78,"depth":289,"text":79},{"id":94,"depth":289,"text":95,"children":295},[296,298,299],{"id":99,"depth":297,"text":100},3,{"id":153,"depth":297,"text":154},{"id":163,"depth":297,"text":164},{"id":170,"depth":289,"text":171},{"id":209,"depth":289,"text":210},{"id":231,"depth":289,"text":232},null,"Heat Pumps","2026-09-21",false,"md",{"heading":286,"primary":309,"secondary":312},{"label":310,"to":311},"Start for free","https:\u002F\u002Ftessa.planeto-energy.ch",{"label":287,"to":276},{"heading":314,"subhead":315,"image":316,"primary":320,"secondary":321},"Ground Source vs Air Source Heat Pump: An Honest Comparison","Ground source wins almost every technical comparison, so that is not the question worth asking. The question is where the extra money stops being worth it for your building. That crossover point is real, it is calculable, and four things decide where it sits.",{"src":317,"alt":318,"width":319,"height":319},"\u002Fimg\u002Fblog\u002Fground-source-heat-pump-vs-ai-source-heat-pump.png","An air-source outdoor unit and a geothermal borehole field serving buildings on a shared underground loop",1120,{"label":310,"to":311},{"label":287,"to":276},"en",{},true,"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fground-source-vs-air-source-heat-pump",{"title":327,"description":328,"ogImage":317},"Ground Source vs Air Source Heat Pump: Honest Comparison","Ground source or air source? Compare efficiency, cost, cooling, noise and lifetime, and find the point where the extra investment stops paying for itself.","ground-source-vs-air-source-heat-pump","en\u002Fblog\u002Fground-source-vs-air-source-heat-pump","LnjWMUxm5TeC1M7BpgZAdHBJ5U4qpw96_z5EilQkqts",{"id":333,"title":334,"author":7,"body":335,"cardImage":303,"category":603,"date":305,"description":339,"draft":306,"excerpt":303,"extension":307,"footerCta":604,"hero":607,"locale":322,"meta":615,"navigation":324,"path":616,"seo":617,"slug":620,"stem":621,"__hash__":622},"blog\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fshallow-geothermal-heating-cooling-buildings.md","Shallow Geothermal Heating Cooling Buildings",{"type":9,"value":336,"toc":587},[337,340,347,350,354,357,360,363,367,371,375,378,381,392,395,398,401,406,410,413,416,423,443,446,449,453,456,459,462,465,468,472,475,478,482,488,494,500,506,512,518,522,525,529,532,536,539,543,550,556,560,566,569,576,581,584],[12,338,339],{},"Two things are happening to European buildings at once. Heating has to be\ndecarbonised, which means fossil boilers are being legislated out on a timetable\nthat is now visible in most countries. And summers have become hot enough that\ncooling is no longer a luxury question; it is a habitability question,\nespecially in the top-floor flats of well-insulated new buildings.",[12,341,342,343,346],{},"Most technologies answer one of these problems and make the other worse.\n",[27,344,345],{},"Shallow geothermal"," is one of the few that answers both with the same pipes,\nand it does so in a way that quietly sidesteps a regulatory wall many owners hit\nwhen they go looking for air conditioning.",[12,348,349],{},"It is also expensive to get wrong, and a fair number of projects do get it\nwrong. So here is the honest version: what shallow geothermal genuinely delivers\nfor a house or a small apartment building, where it disappoints, and what\nseparates a project that performs for fifty years from one that limps.",[19,351,353],{"id":352},"what-shallow-geothermal-actually-means","What \"shallow geothermal\" actually means",[12,355,356],{},"Shallow geothermal uses the ground in the first few hundred metres below your\nbuilding as a heat source in winter and a heat sink in summer. Below roughly ten\nto fifteen metres, ground temperature stops following the seasons and settles at\nsomething close to the local annual average air temperature, typically 8 to\n14 °C across most of Europe, rising slowly with depth.",[12,358,359],{},"For a single house or a small apartment block, the usual configuration is one or\nseveral vertical boreholes, commonly somewhere between 50 and 300 metres deep,\neach containing a sealed loop of plastic pipe. A water-glycol mixture circulates\nthrough that loop, picks up heat from the surrounding rock, and delivers it to a\nheat pump that raises it to a useful temperature for underfloor heating or hot\nwater. Horizontal ground collectors and energy piles exist too, but boreholes\ndominate where land is scarce, as it is for most urban and suburban projects.",[12,361,362],{},"The scale is not marginal. In Switzerland alone, geothermal sources delivered\nabout 4.7 TWh of heat in 2024, roughly 5% of national heating demand, with\nborehole heat exchangers and ground registers accounting for around 82% of that.",[42,364],{":height":112,":width":113,"alt":365,"caption":366,"src":116},"Shallow geothermal borehole field sized in Planeto, with the annual supply curve and heating and cooling energy generation","A shallow borehole field and its annual supply curve: the heating and cooling energy it delivers across the year.",[19,368,370],{"id":369},"why-owners-choose-it","Why owners choose it",[97,372,374],{"id":373},"_1-it-delivers-cooling-where-other-cooling-is-restricted","1. It delivers cooling where other cooling is restricted",[12,376,377],{},"This is the argument that converts people, and it is the least discussed.",[12,379,380],{},"Across much of Europe, building regulation treats active comfort cooling as\nsomething to be justified rather than assumed. The specific mechanism varies by\ncountry, region and sometimes municipality, but the pattern repeats: energy\ncodes that cap or scrutinise installed cooling capacity, requirements to\ndemonstrate that passive measures such as shading and night ventilation have\nbeen exhausted first, planning restrictions on visible outdoor units in dense or\nprotected streetscapes, noise limits at the neighbour's boundary, and the\nongoing F-gas phase-down tightening the refrigerant side. Owners who set out to\ninstall a conventional split system frequently discover that the answer is no,\nor yes-but-not-really.",[12,382,383,384,387,388,391],{},"Geothermal cooling behaves differently, because it is a fundamentally different\nmachine. In its passive form, variously called ",[27,385,386],{},"free cooling",", natural\ncooling or ",[27,389,390],{},"geocooling",", there is no compressor running at all. Warm water\nfrom the building's floor or ceiling circuits passes through a heat exchanger\nagainst the cold brine coming up from the boreholes, and the heat goes into the\nground. The only electricity consumed is a circulation pump. Depending on the\nsystem, delivering a unit of cooling this way typically costs somewhere between\na twentieth and a fortieth of the electricity a compressor chiller would use.",[12,393,394],{},"The regulatory consequence follows from the physics. There is no outdoor unit,\nso nothing to see from the street and nothing to hear from the neighbour's\nterrace. There is no additional refrigerant charge beyond what already sits\ninside the heat pump. Electricity consumption is small enough that it rarely\ntroubles an energy-performance calculation. In many jurisdictions this puts\ngeothermal cooling either outside the restrictions entirely or comfortably\ninside them, at a point where a conventional system would fail.",[12,396,397],{},"The comfort is also different in character. Cooling delivered through a floor\nslab or ceiling is radiant and even: no draught, no cold spot, no fan noise. It\ndoes not feel like air conditioning. It feels like the building is simply not\noverheating.",[12,399,400],{},"Two honest limits. Passive floor cooling delivers modest capacity, on the order\nof 15 to 25 W\u002Fm², which is enough to hold the summer peak down by several\ndegrees but not enough to behave like a split unit in a heatwave. And because\nthe surfaces are cold, dew point has to be controlled, which means proper\nflow-temperature control and, in humid climates, a separate provision for\ndehumidification.",[65,402,403],{},[12,404,405],{},"Rules differ substantially between countries and even between municipalities.\nTreat the above as the shape of the problem, not as legal advice for your\nsite.",[97,407,409],{"id":408},"_2-regeneration-cooling-makes-the-system-last-longer","2. Regeneration: cooling makes the system last longer",[12,411,412],{},"Here is the part that surprises people. Using the system for cooling does not\nwear it out. It does the opposite.",[12,414,415],{},"A borehole field used only for heating takes heat out of the ground every winter\nand gives nothing back except what nature slowly replenishes. Over decades, the\nrock around the boreholes cools. The drift is small year to year but cumulative,\nand over thirty to fifty years it can amount to several kelvin. Every degree the\nsource loses costs the heat pump efficiency, which means more electricity for\nthe same warmth. A field that was sized optimistically in year one can be\nvisibly underperforming by year twenty, and you cannot easily drill your way\nout of it afterwards.",[12,417,418,419,422],{},"Summer cooling reverses this. Every kilowatt-hour of heat you push into the\nground in July is a kilowatt-hour that does not have to be extracted from fresh\nrock in January. This is called ",[27,420,421],{},"regeneration",", and its effects compound:",[121,424,425,431,437],{},[124,426,427,430],{},[27,428,429],{},"Long-term ground temperature stays stable"," instead of drifting down, so the\nseasonal efficiency you were promised in year one is roughly the efficiency\nyou still have in year forty.",[124,432,433,436],{},[27,434,435],{},"The field can often be smaller."," Because the ground recovers, it can be\ndesigned with fewer or shorter boreholes for the same heating output. Drilling\nis the single largest cost line in the project, so this goes directly to\ncapital cost.",[124,438,439,442],{},[27,440,441],{},"The same buried pipes do both jobs."," Cooling is not an add-on system; it is\na second use of an asset you already paid for.",[12,444,445],{},"It is genuinely rare for the comfort upgrade and the durability upgrade to be\nthe same investment. Here they are.",[12,447,448],{},"The caveat is that balance has to be designed rather than hoped for. A\ncooling-dominated building can push the ground the other way and drift warm,\nwhich degrades cooling performance over time. The point is not \"more\nregeneration is better\"; it is that the annual heat balance is a design\nvariable, and somebody has to calculate it.",[97,450,452],{"id":451},"_3-you-are-running-on-your-own-grid","3. You are running on your own grid",[12,454,455],{},"A borehole field is an energy source you own outright. The ground is not\nmetered, not traded, not subject to a carbon levy, and not exposed to anyone's\npipeline politics.",[12,457,458],{},"The only purchased input is the electricity the heat pump consumes, and that is\nthe smaller part of the equation. A well-designed ground-source system typically\nachieves a seasonal performance factor of roughly 4 to 5, against something\ncloser to 2.5 to 3.5 for air-source in the same building. At an SPF of 4, every\nunit of heat delivered to the building costs you a quarter of a unit of bought\nelectricity. The other three quarters come out of the ground for nothing,\nevery year, permanently.",[12,460,461],{},"The practical effect on your exposure is worth stating plainly. If electricity\nprices rise 50%, a direct-electric system's heating bill rises 50%. Yours rises\nby 50% of a quarter. There is no gas connection, no standing charge for one, no\nfuel delivery, no tank, no chimney, no boiler service, and no exposure to a fuel\nmarket at all.",[12,463,464],{},"The pairing with rooftop PV is unusually good, and not only for the obvious\nreason. Cooling demand peaks on bright hot afternoons, which is precisely when a\nPV array is producing most, so the cooling function tends to run on\nself-consumed electricity rather than imported. Winter heating is a poorer\nmatch, but the summer overlap is close to ideal.",[12,466,467],{},"At source, the heat is 100% renewable. The carbon footprint of the whole system\nis then set by where your electricity comes from, which is a variable you\ncontrol and which is decarbonising anyway.",[97,469,471],{"id":470},"_4-invisible-silent-and-long-lived","4. Invisible, silent, and long-lived",[12,473,474],{},"Boreholes are commonly credited with service lives of 50 to 100 years; the heat\npump itself is a 20 to 25 year component. Nothing is visible from the street,\nthere is no outdoor unit to age badly on a façade, and there is nothing for a\nneighbour to complain about at 6am. In conservation areas and dense streets,\nwhere an air-source outdoor unit is often the thing that gets refused, this\nmatters more than it sounds.",[12,476,477],{},"There is a resale argument too. A building with a permanent, low-carbon,\nnon-fossil heating and cooling system is not facing the replacement deadline\nthat a gas boiler is, and valuers have started to notice.",[19,479,481],{"id":480},"the-drawbacks-stated-fairly","The drawbacks, stated fairly",[12,483,484,487],{},[27,485,486],{},"The upfront cost is real."," Drilling dominates the budget and scales with\nmetres, geology and site access. A single-family installation is typically a\nfive-figure investment, materially more than an air-source heat pump and several\ntimes a gas boiler. Payback against air-source commonly lands somewhere in the 8\nto 15 year range and improves sharply in buildings with meaningful cooling\ndemand, because you are getting two systems for one. Against direct electric or\noil it is faster. Constrained urban sites, where a rig has to work in a small\ncourtyard, cost more.",[12,489,490,493],{},[27,491,492],{},"Not every site is permitted or suitable."," Drinking-water protection zones,\nkarst, artesian conditions, contaminated ground and certain swelling rock\nformations can make boreholes restricted or prohibited. Several European regions\npublish admissibility maps for precisely this reason, and the permitting process\ncan take months. Small plots may not offer enough separation between boreholes,\nwhich need meaningful spacing to avoid stealing heat from each other.",[12,495,496,499],{},[27,497,498],{},"It punishes bad design in a way a boiler does not."," An oversized boiler\nwastes money. An undersized borehole field is a performance problem you live\nwith for the life of the building, because adding boreholes afterwards means\nbringing a rig back to a finished site, if there is even space left. The hole in\nthe ground is the one decision you cannot iterate.",[12,501,502,505],{},[27,503,504],{},"It needs low-temperature emitters."," The efficiency case rests on delivering\nheat at 30 to 40 °C. Dropping a ground-source heat pump into an old radiator\ncircuit designed for 65 to 70 °C erodes the advantage badly. And passive cooling\nrequires cooled surfaces: floor, ceiling, or fan coils. Old radiators cannot\ncool.",[12,507,508,511],{},[27,509,510],{},"Construction is disruptive."," Drilling is days to weeks of rig, noise, water\nand spoil on site. Straightforward in new build; more intrusive in an occupied\nbuilding.",[12,513,514,517],{},[27,515,516],{},"Cooling capacity is finite."," Passive geocooling shaves the peak and holds the\nbuilding in a comfortable band. It will not hold 21 °C through a 38 °C week the\nway an oversized split system will, and it does not dehumidify on its own.",[19,519,521],{"id":520},"what-separates-a-good-geothermal-project-from-an-expensive-one","What separates a good geothermal project from an expensive one",[12,523,524],{},"Everything above is determined at design stage, before anyone drills. Three\nquestions decide the outcome.",[97,526,528],{"id":527},"how-much-heat-and-cold-does-this-building-actually-need-over-a-year-not-at-peak","How much heat and cold does this building actually need over a year, not at peak?",[12,530,531],{},"Rules of thumb in watts per square metre come from heating-dominated,\npoorly-insulated stock. Applied to a well-insulated modern building with real\nsummer cooling demand, they oversize the heating side and ignore the cooling\nside entirely. What matters for a borehole field is not the design-day peak but\nthe annual energy balance: how much you take out, how much you put back, and\nwhen.",[97,533,535],{"id":534},"how-much-ground-do-you-need-to-serve-that-for-fifty-years","How much ground do you need to serve that for fifty years?",[12,537,538],{},"The ground is a store with a memory, so the field has to be simulated over\ndecades with the real seasonal load profile, including the regeneration effect\nof summer cooling. A field sized on peak load alone will be either expensively\noversized or quietly undersized, and you will not find out which until year\nfifteen.",[97,540,542],{"id":541},"does-the-money-work-and-compared-to-what","Does the money work, and compared to what?",[12,544,545,546,549],{},"The options worth testing against each other are more numerous than most owners\nrealise: fewer deep boreholes versus more shallow ones, with and without PV,\nwith and without active regeneration, and (the one most often missed)\nindividual systems per building versus a small shared loop linking a handful of\nbuildings. ",[143,547,548],{"href":238},"Shared low-temperature loops","\nfrequently beat individual systems on both cost and performance, because loads\ndiversify, plant rooms consolidate, and a building that needs cooling can\nregenerate the ground for a neighbour that needs heat.",[42,551],{":height":112,":width":552,"alt":553,"caption":554,"src":555},"1190","A 5G low-temperature district heating and cooling network with shallow geothermal borehole fields, designed in Planeto","A shared low-temperature loop: several buildings, one set of borehole fields, and cooling loads that regenerate the ground for heating loads.","\u002Fimg\u002Fsolutions\u002Flow-temperature-networks\u002Flow-temperature-0.jpg",[19,557,559],{"id":558},"getting-the-answer-before-you-commit-capital","Getting the answer before you commit capital",[12,561,562,563,565],{},"This is the work Planeto exists to make faster and more reliable. Our platform,\n",[143,564,255],{"href":254},", brings building demand, ground conditions, energy sources,\nnetwork layout and cost into a single model, so that these scenarios can be\nbuilt and compared in hours rather than weeks, and so that the answer you take\nto a drilling contractor is one you can defend.",[12,567,568],{},"For a single building or a small cluster, that means knowing whether the project\nworks, and at what size, before you commit capital. If it later grows into a\nshared loop across a neighbourhood, the same model carries through to detailed\ndesign.",[12,570,571,572,575],{},"And if you do not have a planning office already engaged, you do not need one to\nstart the conversation. Our energy engineers use Tessa on real projects every\nweek, and can\n",[143,573,574],{"href":269},"run the feasibility work with you",",\nreview a design somebody has already proposed, or simply tell you whether your\nsite is worth pursuing at all.",[12,577,578],{},[143,579,277],{"href":580},"\u002Fproduct-demo\u002F?ref=blog-shallow-geothermal",[279,582],{":items":583,"heading":282},"[{\"question\":\"Can a geothermal system really cool a building?\",\"answer\":\"Yes, and usually without a compressor. Cold brine from the boreholes is passed against the building's floor or ceiling circuits through a heat exchanger. Capacity is moderate and radiant rather than forced-air, so it holds the building in a comfortable band rather than delivering a cold blast.\"},{\"question\":\"Does using it for cooling shorten the system's life?\",\"answer\":\"The opposite. Summer heat injected into the ground regenerates it, counteracting the long-term temperature drift that heating-only fields suffer, and protecting efficiency over the decades.\"},{\"question\":\"How deep do the boreholes go?\",\"answer\":\"Commonly 50 to 300 metres for residential projects, with the total depth driven by heat demand and ground thermal conductivity rather than by a fixed rule.\"},{\"question\":\"Will I need a permit?\",\"answer\":\"Almost certainly. Most jurisdictions regulate drilling, many publish maps of where boreholes are restricted or prohibited, and lead times of several months are normal. Check this before anything else; it is the fastest way to find out whether a project is possible at all.\"},{\"question\":\"Does it work in an existing building?\",\"answer\":\"It can, but the emitters usually decide. Buildings with underfloor heating or generously sized radiators adapt well. Buildings running high-temperature radiators need that addressed first, or the efficiency case weakens considerably. They also cannot deliver cooling at all.\"}]",[284,585],{"heading":586,"secondary-label":287,"secondary-to":580},"Find out whether shallow geothermal works on your site",{"title":60,"searchDepth":289,"depth":289,"links":588},[589,590,596,597,602],{"id":352,"depth":289,"text":353},{"id":369,"depth":289,"text":370,"children":591},[592,593,594,595],{"id":373,"depth":297,"text":374},{"id":408,"depth":297,"text":409},{"id":451,"depth":297,"text":452},{"id":470,"depth":297,"text":471},{"id":480,"depth":289,"text":481},{"id":520,"depth":289,"text":521,"children":598},[599,600,601],{"id":527,"depth":297,"text":528},{"id":534,"depth":297,"text":535},{"id":541,"depth":297,"text":542},{"id":558,"depth":289,"text":559},"Geothermal Energy",{"heading":586,"primary":605,"secondary":606},{"label":310,"to":311},{"label":287,"to":580},{"heading":608,"subhead":609,"image":610,"primary":613,"secondary":614},"Shallow Geothermal for Homes and Small Apartment Buildings: Heating, Cooling, and What Nobody Tells You","Heating has to be decarbonised and summers have become hot enough that cooling is a habitability question. Shallow geothermal answers both with the same pipes, but it is expensive to get wrong. Here is what it genuinely delivers, where it disappoints, and what decides the outcome before anyone drills.",{"src":611,"alt":612,"width":319,"height":319},"\u002Fimg\u002Fblog\u002Fshallow-geothermal-hero.png","Shallow geothermal boreholes under a building, paired with rooftop PV",{"label":310,"to":311},{"label":287,"to":580},{},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fshallow-geothermal-heating-cooling-buildings",{"title":618,"description":619,"ogImage":611},"Shallow Geothermal: Heating and Cooling for Buildings | Planeto","How shallow geothermal heats and cools homes and small apartment buildings, why regeneration makes it last longer, and the drawbacks worth knowing first.","shallow-geothermal-heating-cooling-buildings","en\u002Fblog\u002Fshallow-geothermal-heating-cooling-buildings","lg0NTGlRJhNZzmiodhcU3IU_Azk0caZ1Py13RO_YN0A",{"id":624,"title":625,"author":7,"body":626,"cardImage":303,"category":1232,"date":1233,"description":1234,"draft":306,"excerpt":303,"extension":307,"footerCta":1235,"hero":1240,"locale":322,"meta":1247,"navigation":324,"path":1248,"seo":1249,"slug":1252,"stem":1253,"__hash__":1254},"blog\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fmigrating-from-comsof-heat-district-energy-planning.md","Migrating From Comsof Heat District Energy Planning",{"type":9,"value":627,"toc":1219},[628,635,642,649,662,666,692,699,703,706,711,741,746,778,783,787,802,806,816,821,844,849,880,885,904,908,918,941,945,959,985,989,1003,1022,1026,1139,1141,1155,1159,1162,1188,1191,1197,1203,1209,1215],[12,629,630,631,634],{},"If you design district heating and cooling (DHC) networks, ",[27,632,633],{},"Comsof Heat"," was\nprobably part of your toolkit for years. It automated the GIS-based mapping,\npipe routing, feasibility testing and thermo-hydraulic simulation that manual\nmethods could never match at scale.",[12,636,637,638],{},"Active development and new features have stalled, and planners are asking the obvious question:\n",[639,640,641],"em",{},"how long will my projects keep running, and what do I migrate to?",[12,643,644,645,648],{},"This guide walks through what actually matters in a\nComsof Heat replacement, compare the alternatives planners genuinely evaluate —\n",[27,646,647],{},"THERMOS, Hotmaps, ENEKA and Planeto"," — and show why most teams making a\ndetailed-design migration are landing on Planeto.",[65,650,651],{},[12,652,653,656,657,661],{},[27,654,655],{},"Already convinced?"," See the full feature-by-feature breakdown on our\n",[143,658,660],{"href":659},"\u002Fcompare\u002Fplaneto-vs-comsof-heat\u002F","Comsof Heat alternative comparison"," page.",[19,663,665],{"id":664},"the-problem-with-comsof-heat-today","The problem with Comsof Heat today",[121,667,668,674,680,686],{},[124,669,670,673],{},[27,671,672],{},"No more updates."," Bug fixes, new features and compatibility patches dry up.\nEach OS update becomes a risk that your install simply stops working.",[124,675,676,679],{},[27,677,678],{},"Support uncertainty."," As the product might wound down, the depth of support\nyou can rely on for live projects shrinks.",[124,681,682,685],{},[27,683,684],{},"Trapped data."," Years of network designs, cost models and GIS layers sit in\na format tied to a tool with a relative future. Migration only gets harder the longer\nyou wait.",[124,687,688,691],{},[27,689,690],{},"Projects in flight."," Tenders and designs still have to ship. You need a\nreplacement that reads your existing work, not a year-long rebuild.",[12,693,694,695,698],{},"The good news: the ",[639,696,697],{},"methodology"," of district energy planning hasn't changed. You\nneed a tool that speaks the same engineering language, imports your data, and\nlets your team keep moving.",[19,700,702],{"id":701},"what-to-look-for-in-a-comsof-heat-alternative","What to look for in a Comsof Heat alternative",[12,704,705],{},"Not every \"energy planning tool\" is built for the rigour of detailed network\ndesign. Many are strategic screening tools that stop at a heat-demand map. As you\nevaluate alternatives, weigh them against the capabilities that made Comsof Heat\nuseful in the first place — and the modern features that legacy desktop software\nnever offered.",[12,707,708],{},[27,709,710],{},"Must-haves to match Comsof Heat:",[712,713,714,720,726,732],"ol",{},[124,715,716,719],{},[27,717,718],{},"GIS-based automated network design"," — connect buildings, generate transport\nand distribution layouts automatically, not by hand.",[124,721,722,725],{},[27,723,724],{},"Pipe sizing & thermo-hydraulic simulation"," — sizing against pressure,\nvelocity and temperature constraints. Without this, it's a feasibility toy,\nnot a design tool.",[124,727,728,731],{},[27,729,730],{},"Deployment cost models & bill of materials"," — granular CAPEX\u002FOPEX (trench,\nequipment, service connections) and a procurement-ready BoM.",[124,733,734,737,738],{},[27,735,736],{},"Data migration"," — it must import your GIS files and existing designs. Ask\nevery vendor directly: ",[639,739,740],{},"how does my Comsof Heat data get in?",[12,742,743],{},[27,744,745],{},"Differentiators worth migrating for:",[712,747,749,755,766,772],{"start":748},5,[124,750,751,754],{},[27,752,753],{},"Cloud \u002F SaaS"," — no installation, no version management, continuous updates.",[124,756,757,765],{},[27,758,759,760,764],{},"5",[761,762,763],"sup",{},"th"," generation (5G) DHC"," — native loop and meshed topologies for anergy\nrings and low-temperature networks.",[124,767,768,771],{},[27,769,770],{},"Real-time collaboration"," — your team and clients on the same live data.",[124,773,774,777],{},[27,775,776],{},"AI-assisted workflows"," — feasibility and design accelerated by an\nintegrated assistant.",[42,779],{"alt":780,"caption":781,"src":782},"Thermo-hydraulic network simulation showing pipe sizing and pressure across a district heating network","Pipe sizing and thermo-hydraulic simulation are non-negotiable in a true Comsof Heat replacement — not every alternative offers them.","\u002Fimg\u002Fproduct\u002Fhydraulic-simulation.png",[19,784,786],{"id":785},"top-comsof-heat-alternatives-compared","Top Comsof Heat alternatives compared",[12,788,789,790,793,794,797,798,801],{},"A key thing to understand up front: most tools marketed for \"heat planning\" are\n",[27,791,792],{},"strategic \u002F pre-feasibility"," tools. They're excellent for mapping demand and\nscreening where a network ",[639,795,796],{},"could"," go — but they don't carry a project through to\na buildable, costed design. Only a few are genuine ",[27,799,800],{},"detailed-design","\nreplacements for Comsof Heat. We've flagged which is which.",[97,803,805],{"id":804},"_1-planeto-the-detailed-design-replacement","1. Planeto — the detailed-design replacement",[12,807,808,815],{},[143,809,812],{"href":311,"rel":810},[811],"nofollow",[27,813,814],{},"Planeto"," (TESSA) is a cloud-based DHC\ndesign platform built by the same community of district energy experts who know\nexactly what Comsof Heat did well. It's the closest like-for-like replacement\nfor detailed network design — and it goes further.",[12,817,818],{},[27,819,820],{},"Comsof Heat workflows Planeto matches:",[121,822,823,826,829,832,835,838,841],{},[124,824,825],{},"GIS-based automated distribution network design",[124,827,828],{},"Pipe sizing with pressure, velocity and service-connection constraints",[124,830,831],{},"Full deployment cost models (trenching to equipment) with CAPEX\u002FOPEX",[124,833,834],{},"Bill of materials, ready for procurement",[124,836,837],{},"Heat delivery units, demand configuration and simultaneity factors",[124,839,840],{},"2-layer transport\u002Fdistribution and multi-source networks",[124,842,843],{},"GIS file import and cloud-based calculations",[12,845,846],{},[27,847,848],{},"What Comsof Heat users gain on top:",[121,850,851,857,863,868,874],{},[124,852,853,856],{},[27,854,855],{},"Cloud SaaS"," — no install, no IT overhead, always up to date.",[124,858,859,862],{},[27,860,861],{},"Native 5G loop & meshed networks"," — anergy rings and multi-injection-point\nsystems Comsof Heat was never built for.",[124,864,865,867],{},[27,866,770],{}," — share scenarios with colleagues and clients\ninstead of emailing project files.",[124,869,870,873],{},[27,871,872],{},"AI-assisted feasibility & design"," — accelerate the repetitive work.",[124,875,876,879],{},[27,877,878],{},"Migration support"," — the Planeto team audits and transfers your existing\nComsof Heat projects, GIS files and cost models.",[42,881],{"alt":882,"caption":883,"src":884},"5ᵗʰ generation district heating loop network with meshed topology in Planeto","Low-temperature network and geothermal boreholes loop and mesh configurations — detailed design Comsof Heat couldn't do, and the strategic tools below don't attempt.","\u002Fimg\u002Fsolutions\u002Fnetwork-design-hydraulic-simulation\u002Fhydraulic-simulation-geothermal-5g.jpg",[12,886,887,890,891,894,897,898,900,903],{},[27,888,889],{},"Best for:"," teams replacing Comsof Heat for real, buildable network design.",[892,893],"br",{},[27,895,896],{},"Pricing:"," commercial SaaS (free trial to start). ",[892,899],{},[27,901,902],{},"Limitation:"," a commercial tool, not free\u002Fopen-source like the strategic options below.",[97,905,907],{"id":906},"_2-thermos-free-strategic-network-optimisation","2. THERMOS — free strategic network optimisation",[12,909,910,917],{},[143,911,914],{"href":912,"rel":913},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.thermos-project.eu\u002F",[811],[27,915,916],{},"THERMOS"," is a free, open-source,\nweb-based tool from an EU Horizon 2020 project (led by the Centre for Sustainable\nEnergy). It does address-level heat and cold demand modelling and optimises which\nbuildings to connect and how to route a network — fast, and available almost\nanywhere in the world, with 1,400+ users and 3,000+ projects.",[12,919,920,922,923,925,927,928,930,932,933,936,937,940],{},[27,921,889],{}," early-stage screening, scenario comparison and academic \u002F pre-\nfeasibility studies. ",[892,924],{},[27,926,896],{}," free, open-source. ",[892,929],{},[27,931,902],{}," it's a\nstrategic optimisation tool — it does ",[27,934,935],{},"not"," deliver detailed thermo-hydraulic\ndesign, granular bill-of-materials, or the engineering depth needed for a final,\nbuildable design. Useful ",[639,938,939],{},"before"," Comsof Heat's job, not a replacement for it.",[97,942,944],{"id":943},"_3-hotmaps-open-source-heat-mapping-master-planning","3. Hotmaps — open-source heat mapping & master planning",[12,946,947,954,955,958],{},[143,948,951],{"href":949,"rel":950},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.hotmaps-project.eu\u002F",[811],[27,952,953],{},"Hotmaps"," is an open-source toolbox (Horizon\n2020, Fraunhofer ISI and partners) that ships ",[27,956,957],{},"default heating and cooling data\nfor the whole EU",". It excels at demand-density mapping and strategic heat supply\nanalysis from building to region scale.",[12,960,961,963,964,966,927,968,970,972,973,976,977,980,981,984],{},[27,962,889],{}," municipal and regional master planning, policy work and identifying\npriority areas. ",[892,965],{},[27,967,896],{},[892,969],{},[27,971,902],{}," Hotmaps is a\nmapping and strategic-planning toolbox — there's ",[27,974,975],{},"no automated pipe routing,\nhydraulic sizing or bill of materials",". It tells you ",[639,978,979],{},"where"," a network makes\nsense, not ",[639,982,983],{},"how"," to engineer it.",[97,986,988],{"id":987},"_4-enekaenergieplanung-municipal-heat-planning-dach","4. ENEKA.Energieplanung — municipal heat planning (DACH)",[12,990,991,998,999,1002],{},[143,992,995],{"href":993,"rel":994},"https:\u002F\u002Feneka.de\u002F",[811],[27,996,997],{},"ENEKA.Energieplanung"," is a web-based GIS platform focused\non ",[27,1000,1001],{},"kommunale Wärmeplanung"," (municipal heat planning), used in ~300 German\nmunicipalities. It models energy demand, renewables potential, costs, emissions\nand scenarios, with strong stakeholder-reporting features tuned to German\nregulatory heat-planning requirements.",[12,1004,1005,1007,1008,1010,1012,1013,1015,1017,1018,1021],{},[27,1006,889],{}," municipalities and utilities producing regulatory heat plans,\nprimarily in Germany\u002FDACH. ",[892,1009],{},[27,1011,896],{}," commercial. ",[892,1014],{},[27,1016,902],{}," it's a\nstrategic and transformation-planning tool for ",[639,1019,1020],{},"regional"," heat strategy — not a\ndetailed DHC network-design or thermo-hydraulic engineering tool, and its focus\nis the German regulatory context.",[19,1023,1025],{"id":1024},"comsof-heat-alternatives-at-a-glance","Comsof Heat alternatives: at a glance",[1027,1028,1029,1055],"table",{},[1030,1031,1032],"thead",{},[1033,1034,1035,1038,1041,1044,1047,1049,1052],"tr",{},[763,1036,1037],{},"Tool",[763,1039,1040],{},"Type",[763,1042,1043],{},"Detailed network design & sizing",[763,1045,1046],{},"Bill of materials",[763,1048,753],{},[763,1050,1051],{},"Pricing",[763,1053,1054],{},"Best for",[1056,1057,1058,1081,1101,1119],"tbody",{},[1033,1059,1060,1065,1068,1071,1073,1075,1078],{},[1061,1062,1063],"td",{},[27,1064,814],{},[1061,1066,1067],{},"Detailed design",[1061,1069,1070],{},"✅ Yes",[1061,1072,1070],{},[1061,1074,1070],{},[1061,1076,1077],{},"Commercial (free trial)",[1061,1079,1080],{},"A true Comsof Heat replacement",[1033,1082,1083,1085,1088,1091,1093,1095,1098],{},[1061,1084,916],{},[1061,1086,1087],{},"Strategic optimisation",[1061,1089,1090],{},"❌ No",[1061,1092,1090],{},[1061,1094,1070],{},[1061,1096,1097],{},"Free \u002F open-source",[1061,1099,1100],{},"Early screening & feasibility",[1033,1102,1103,1105,1108,1110,1112,1114,1116],{},[1061,1104,953],{},[1061,1106,1107],{},"Strategic mapping",[1061,1109,1090],{},[1061,1111,1090],{},[1061,1113,1070],{},[1061,1115,1097],{},[1061,1117,1118],{},"Regional master planning",[1033,1120,1121,1124,1127,1129,1131,1133,1136],{},[1061,1122,1123],{},"ENEKA",[1061,1125,1126],{},"Municipal heat planning",[1061,1128,1090],{},[1061,1130,1090],{},[1061,1132,1070],{},[1061,1134,1135],{},"Commercial",[1061,1137,1138],{},"German regulatory heat plans",[892,1140],{},[12,1142,1143,1146,1147,1150,1151,1154],{},[27,1144,1145],{},"The takeaway:"," THERMOS, Hotmaps and ENEKA are valuable — but as ",[639,1148,1149],{},"strategic","\ntools that sit upstream of where Comsof Heat worked. If you need to replace the\ndetailed engineering Comsof Heat actually did, ",[27,1152,1153],{},"Planeto is the only like-for-\nlike option"," in this list, and it adds cloud, low-temperature network design and collaboration on top.",[19,1156,1158],{"id":1157},"migrating-without-losing-momentum","Migrating without losing momentum",[12,1160,1161],{},"A tool change doesn't have to mean a standstill. The smoothest Comsof Heat\nmigrations follow four steps:",[712,1163,1164,1170,1176,1182],{},[124,1165,1166,1169],{},[27,1167,1168],{},"Get a demo"," — see the platform run against your own projects.",[124,1171,1172,1175],{},[27,1173,1174],{},"Data audit"," — review your existing Comsof Heat files and GIS data together.",[124,1177,1178,1181],{},[27,1179,1180],{},"Migration"," — the Planeto team transfers your designs, GIS and cost models.",[124,1183,1184,1187],{},[27,1185,1186],{},"Onboarding"," — your team is productive from day one.",[19,1189,282],{"id":1190},"frequently-asked-questions",[12,1192,1193,1196],{},[27,1194,1195],{},"Is Comsof Heat being discontinued?","\nActive development of Comsof Heat remains unsure. Planners should probably not count on future updates or long-term support and\nshould start to think about a software migration.",[12,1198,1199,1202],{},[27,1200,1201],{},"What is the best alternative to Comsof Heat?","\nFor detailed, buildable network design, Planeto is the closest like-for-like\nreplacement. For free strategic screening, THERMOS and Hotmaps are strong\nopen-source options.",[12,1204,1205,1208],{},[27,1206,1207],{},"Are there free alternatives to Comsof Heat?","\nYes — THERMOS and Hotmaps are free and open-source, but they're strategic\nplanning tools, not detailed design tools.",[12,1210,1211,1214],{},[27,1212,1213],{},"Can I migrate my Comsof Heat data?","\nYes. Planeto imports GIS files and offers a hands-on migration service for your\nexisting projects and cost models.",[1216,1217],"footer-cta-banner",{"heading":1218},"Ready to migrate from Comsof Heat?",{"title":60,"searchDepth":289,"depth":289,"links":1220},[1221,1222,1223,1229,1230,1231],{"id":664,"depth":289,"text":665},{"id":701,"depth":289,"text":702},{"id":785,"depth":289,"text":786,"children":1224},[1225,1226,1227,1228],{"id":804,"depth":297,"text":805},{"id":906,"depth":297,"text":907},{"id":943,"depth":297,"text":944},{"id":987,"depth":297,"text":988},{"id":1024,"depth":289,"text":1025},{"id":1157,"depth":289,"text":1158},{"id":1190,"depth":289,"text":282},"District Energy Planning","2026-06-22","If you design district heating and cooling (DHC) networks, Comsof Heat was\nprobably part of your toolkit for years. It automated the GIS-based mapping,\npipe routing, feasibility testing and thermo-hydraulic simulation that manual\nmethods could never match at scale.",{"heading":1218,"primary":1236,"secondary":1237},{"label":310,"to":311},{"label":1238,"to":1239},"Get a migration demo","\u002Fproduct-demo\u002F?ref=blog-comsof-migration",{"heading":1241,"subhead":1242,"image":1243},"Migrating from Comsof Heat: Why District Energy Planners Are Choosing Planeto","Looking for a Comsof alternative?  We compare the alternatives planners actually evaluate — THERMOS, Hotmaps, ENEKA and Planeto — so you can choose a replacement that matches Comsof Heat's engineering depth and migrate your data without starting over.",{"src":1244,"alt":1245,"width":1246,"height":1246},"\u002Fimg\u002Fblog\u002Fcomsof-heat-hero.png","Planeto district energy planning interface",600,{},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fmigrating-from-comsof-heat-district-energy-planning",{"title":1250,"description":1251,"ogImage":1244},"Migrating from Comsof Heat: Alternatives Compared (2026) | Planeto","Looking for a Comsof alternative? District energy planners need a clear migration path. Compare real alternatives — THERMOS, Hotmaps, ENEKA and Planeto — on detailed network design, data migration and cost, and explain why most planners are choosing Planeto.","migrating-from-comsof-heat-district-energy-planning","en\u002Fblog\u002Fmigrating-from-comsof-heat-district-energy-planning","1Z9uow3bZyygdBIpco-g3L683U-RwIuQ_TqdwQsZarE",1790169626116]