In ground-coupled heat pump systems, accurate prediction of transient ground heat transfer is important to establish the required borehole length and to determine precisely the resulting fluid temperature. Three analytical solutions to transient heat transfer in the vicinity of geothermal boreholes are presented. These solutions are referred to as the infinite line source (ILS), the infinite cylindrical source (ICS) and the finite line source (FLS) models, which vary in complexity and are based on simplifications of the borehole geometry. The results of these models are compared and their validity domains are determined. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.