Ontology of ground source heat pump

Ground source heap pump (GSHP) systems constitute one of the most prevalent technologies for reducing energy consumption and fostering sustainable development. Owing to the urgent need for GSHP dissemination, the Chinese government has introduced various policies in the form of subsidies, regulations, codes, etc. Nonetheless, the lack of a generic understanding of GSHP systems has led to an improper interpretation of their development and dissemination; thus, financial subsidies for GSHP dissemination have not been optimized. This paper proposes an ontology that delineates GSHP technology. The proposed ontology is developed using keywords extracted from existing studies, as well as their relationships, which are defined on the basis of a literature review and semi-structural interviews. Co-occurrence analysis is conducted to evaluate the relationships among the keywords. The proposed ontology, which consists of 34 components within five levels, systematically highlights the critical components and delineates the GSHP system, thereby serving as a rigorous foundation for underpinning changes in government policies and industrial R&D.