01692nas a2200205   4500008004100000245011400041210006900155260000900224300001200233490000700245520103500252653002401287653001001311653002201321653000901343653000801352100001801360700001901378856008901397       2009                        eng d00aComparison of energy efficiency between variable refrigerant flow systems and ground source heat pump systems0 aComparison of energy efficiency between variable refrigerant flo  c2009  a584-5890 v423 a<p>With the current movement towards net zero energy buildings, many technologies are promoted with emphasis on their superior energy efficiency. The variable refrigerant flow (VRF) and ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems are probably the most competitive technologies among these. However, there are few studies reporting the energy efficiency of VRF systems compared with GSHP systems. In this article, a preliminary comparison of energy efficiency between the air-source VRF and GSHP systems is presented. The computer simulation results show that GSHP system is more energy efficient than the air-source VRF system for conditioning a small office building in two selected US climates. In general, GSHP system is more energy efficient than the air-source VRV system, especially when the building has significant heating loads. For buildings with less heating loads, the GSHP system could still perform better than the air-source VRF system in terms of energy efficiency, but the resulting energy savings may be marginal.</p>10abuilding simulation10adoe-210aenergy efficiency10agshp10avrf1 aLiu, Xiaobing1 aHong, Tianzhen  uhttps://simulationresearch.lbl.gov/publications/comparison-energy-efficiency-between