A Review of Building Earth-Contact Heat Transfer

A review and categorization of the methods developed for the prediction of heat transfer in earth-coupled structures is presented. The thermal properties of soils are also briefly discussed. The four categories of tools reviewed are analytical and semi-analytical methods, numerical methods, manual methods and design guides. Numerical methods in three dimensions seem to be the most appropriate ones in building ground-coupled simulation due to their accuracy and ability to handle any complex configuration. Areas of future improvements are also discussed.