The word “geothermal” refers to several technologies. The International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA) focuses on Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP), also called Geothermal Heat Pumps, GeoExchange Systems, Water-source Heat Pumps, and other industry terms.

IGSHPA’s sister organization, Geothermal Exchange Organization, has published the document below that helps to distinguish between geothermal heat pumps (“shallow geothermal”) for heating and cooling, and “deep geothermal” for power generation and direct use geothermal.