Ground-coupled heat exchanger may also use water or antifreeze as a heat transfer fluid, often in conjunction with a geothermal heat pump.

A ground-coupled heat exchanger is an underground heat exchanger that can capture heat from and/or dissipate heat to the ground.

Tank-type systems can use many heat sources such as district heating, central heating, geothermal heating, micro CHP and ground-coupled heat exchangers.

This is often done to provide a source of cool air for a building by means of a ground-coupled heat exchanger (also known as Earth tubes), wherein condensation is typically regarded as a significant problem.

Performance is influenced by all components of the installed system, including the soil conditions, the ground-coupled heat exchanger, the heat pump appliance, and the building distribution, but is largely determined by the "lift" between the input temperature and the output temperature.