Thermal response tests, used to assess the thermal conductivity of the subsurface in the geothermal heating and cooling sector, require a high power source commonly supplied by a fuel generator. Supplying high power for the conventional test, in which with water flows in the ground heat exchanger, is an important source of cost and a new method using a power source of less than 1 kW has been envisioned. Heating cable sections are installed in the standing water column of the exchanger for the proposed test, where recovery temperatures have been positively reproduced with numerical simulations in preparation for field experiments. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.