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The GLD Geothermal Software Design Suite:
Evolving to Support Geothermal Professionals
April 2024: Version 10.1.12 Introducing the 10.1.xx version of GLDs. Features a new gridbuilder and angular boreholes. As new drilling technology provides more design options which were not possible in previous simulations, GLDs offers an indurstry first ability to simulate angular borehole designs by simply selecting an angle! The angular option may be used with any of the coaxial or U-Bend piping configurations, In addition to the new angular designs, there are dozens of updates to features like GMap viewing, new automated gridbuilder patterns, G-Function Coefficient Writer for ENSURE, Horizontal piping data export for the Piping System Builder, and more.
February 2023: Version 10.0.80 features a new license key manager; enhanced monthly and hourly calculations and results checking for complicated systems; handles high inlet temps in heating and low inlet temps in cooling better in monthly and hourly mode; numerous changes in the Thermal Conductivity module; Text file results outputs updated tab delimiting for easier import to Excel spreadsheets. Improvements and fixes in response to customer questions and suggestions.
March 2022: Version 10.0.70 features new code for BTR theory; numerous changes in the Thermal Conductivity module. GLDs now handles the latest IES and Trane Trace updates and has fully compatible file exports. We've added a new G-Function coefficient and Writer for ENSURE. Lots of improvements and fixes in response to customer questions and suggestions. GLDs is now compatible with Windows 11 for smooth future operation!
February 2021: Version 10.0.51 features a new data signature, updated graphing data outputs and better import logic when importing CSV files. We've added new dialog boxes for network users to better understande the license availability and expiration date as more users have gone to remote license access while working from home. The license manager for networking has improved capabilities for Remote Desktop work, virtualized machines and VPN support.
August 2019: Beginning with version 10.0.39, The latest GLDs Software Geothermal
Design Suite features access to some additional borehole piping choices.
In the coaxial portion of the borehole module, you will now find Geokoax
piping for international and U.S. sizes as an option. GLD links to a
transient simulation tool for GEOKOAX ground heat exchangers that was developed by GEOKOAX, XRG Simulation,
ROM Technik and Silpion IT-Solutions, Germany, and has been in use for
two years as a stand alone version in Germany and other countries. With
the integration in GLD, the specific transient response of GEOKOAX
ground heat exchangers can now be considered. A
physical transient model was developed in Dymola/Modelica, a modern
equation-based modelling language, which resolves the thermal responses
even for short term on-off cycles (e.g., just few minutes). The model is
validated with measurement data and against the step response method of
Eskilson. This method is used only in the separate GEOKOAX module that
is launched from within GLDs and the output shown within GLDs is
considered “third party”.
An additional feature of the borehole module is the new progress and
initialization progress bars. Each time a monthly or hourly simulation
is run, the initialization progress bar shows the computations of the
G-Function and a progress bar is shown for all simulations with 300
boreholes or more. The millions and millions of interacting
calculations can be time consuming and GLDs now provides an indication that
the simulations are progressing normally, even when there is a long elapsed
calculation time.
November 2018: The new GLDs Software Geothermal
Design Suite is released. The product name moving forward will be based on
the version number. The latest release is GLDs v10.0.22 and features a number
of changes "under the hood". The most obvious change is the addition of
coaxial heat exchangers in the borehole module. This advancement has been
two years in the making with major software updates to accomodate future
variations of heat exchangers. Also in GLDs 10.0.22, the fluids libraries are
updated and combine to allow all parts of GLD to use the same fluids
libraries. This new version of the software requires all users to update
their license keys to add the new coaxial exchanger module to the software.
Users immediately know that they are using the new version based on the
background color and the larger menu pull-down choices.
March 2018: Final build release of GLD2016 posted. Watch for the next version of GLD.
September 2017: The shift away from old operating systems has allowed us to remove some of the overhead that was needed to support old technology, such as Windows 98 and Windows 2000. This provides a more compact footprint.
November 2016: The new GLD2016 installer now contains multiple language files, which eliminates the need to have separate installers for different languages.
January 2016: GLD2016 introduces piping intelligence to the software. The new Piping System Builder is available as a standalone program or as part of the GLD Premier version of the software. GLD2016 also makes a major change to where files are stored to accomodate the latest Windows standards. The user files are no longer located in the program folders and can now be found in special folders with the user documents. This eliminates security issues and resolves issues where there are multiple users of the software on the same machine. The GLD2016 installer is new and now eliminates the need to uninstall existing versions of software when doing updates.
July 2015: GLD2014 now runs on Windows 10 for both 32b and 64b versions of the latest OS. The current installer now includes all of the drivers necessary to install up-to-date HASP Key files. Previous versions of GLD (2012 and earlier) must be upgraded to GLD2014 build 8.0.11 or later to allow operation on Windows 10.
February 2014: GLD2014 now includes a Windows 8.1
compliant installer. The new GLD2014 is the first geothermal
design tool to include hybrid simulation controls which allow the user
to simulate loads with total energy adjustments or peak load shaving to
emulate a real-world building scenario. The piping designer and
vertical/horizontal modules are improved and now feature a full metric
pipe library for international applications. The dynamics of fluid
flow are now simulated with fluids at operating viscosity instead of
just freeze point values, which provides for greater accuracy of pumping
conditions. In addition to the other
enhancements, the Thermal Conductivity Module just got smarter with
automatic temerature sensor selection in systems with redundant sensors.
The data import function can now check column headers and make automatic
data assignments. The
heatpump library is more comprehensive than ever with full new families
from Carrier, ClimateMaster and WaterFurnace. International
customers will appreciate the dozens of new 50Hz pumps that are part of
the pump library. The internal help
resources have been expanded for easier viewing and support for more
locations. As operating systems evolve, GLD2014 now helps set the
security settings to allow smooth operation, regardless of your Windows
version. With the digital signature and file ownership controls,
GLD2014 helps users maintain ease of use in Windows 8 and beyond. Many of the program enhancements have been years in the
making and represent inputs from professional geothermal designers
around the world and industry.
November 2012: GLD2012 has released a digitally signed version of the product which is the first Windows 8 compatible version (32bit or 64bit) of our popular geothermal design suite. Ground Loop Design is the first of any Geothermal design tool to release a version that has been tested to install and operate on the latest flagship of the Microsoft OS. In addition to the other enhancements, the Thermal Conductivity Module just got smarter! Users want the data import operation to be simple and GLD now will automatically identify and import datalog information without user intervention for selelecting Metric or Imperial units. The heatpump library is more comprehensive than ever with full new families from Carrier, ClimateMaster and WaterFurnace.
December 2011: After introduction at the 2011 IGSHPA Conference and testing by professional GHX designers, the latest release of GLD is now shipping. The new GLD2012 features the new Gridbuilder for GHX layout; "G" function visualizer; Fixed area mode in Horizontal designs; Horizontal heat exchanger temp graphing; Enhanced reports; the new GSA (Geothermal System Analyzer) module; Enhanced heat pump temperature range modeling with design warnings. With the latest version of GLD, it is now possible to calculate even larger loopfields than ever. The optimized memory management offers faster calculations and simulations of 1,200 - 2,000 loops and more. An incredible number of dependencies and interactions between the individual borehholes are handled by GLD for the most accurate large-field predictions, yet!
October 2010: We are pleased to announce the release of GLD 2010, The new edition has over a dozen major new features including the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) module, hourly loopfield and energy simulations, customized reports and bidirectional integration with leading building energy simulation tools.
May 2009: We are pleased to announce the release of the latest
member of the Geothermal Design Suite, the thermal conductivity (TC) module.
This module enables designers to analyze TC test data and create thermal conductivity reports instantly.
We have contracted with Precision Geothermal, makers of the GeoCube, to
include the new Thermal Conductivity Module as a stand-alone tool with each
GeoCube.
January 2009: Gaia Geothermal is pleased to
announce the release of GLDTM Premier Financial 2009 Edition. The new
edition includes a financial module that offers a range of financial and
emissions analysis tools. These tools enable designers to quickly analyze
the annual and lifetime energy costs, emissions costs, maintenance costs,
installation costs, lease value opportunity costs and salvage values of
their geothermal designs. In addition, users can compare their geothermal
designs with up to 5 standard HVAC systems (chillers, boilers, air source
heat pumps, etc.) to clearly demonstrate the benefits of "going geothermal."
October 2008: In October 2008, we previewed the new finance module at the IGSHPA conference in Nashville, TN.
June 2008: In June 2008, we released version Ground Loop DesignTM Version 5.3.
Version 5.3 enables users to experience both the residential and commercial trial editions with a single download.
It also enables users to test out LEAD PLUS for a 10 day period.
March 2008: In early 2008, Gaia Geothermal released Ground Loop DesignTM Residential Version 5.0. The first of its kind, Ground Loop DesignTM Residential uses commercial-grade heat transfer analysis for the design of residential systems, ensuring the highest levels of accuracy. In addition to offering the modular system that provides so much design power to commercial designers, the residential version includes the LEAD PLUS Plug-In, a tool that offers residential loads calculations, cost comparisons, a C02 emissions reduction calculator, and other sales-oriented and design features. Click here to read more about the residential features.
October 2007: In late 2007, Gaia Geothermal released Ground Loop DesignTM Premier Version 5.0, the most comprehensive ground source heat pump system design software in the industry. Click here to read about the latest features.
