Because of poor heat transfer coefficients of soil/rock, ground source heat pumps (GSHP) or underground thermal energy storage (UTES) systems always occupy a large area and need many ground heat exchangers. This initial energy investment is so heavy that it cannot be used on a large-scale. Intermittent operation can reduce the extreme temperatures around the ground heat exchangers (GHEs) and keep the temperature in reasonable range. The aim of this study is to implement an experiment and develop a dynamic model of hydronic heating systems of GSHP in order to get a more fair comparison of energy efficiency between continuously controlled and intermittently controlled systems. Factors such as thermal inertia, temperature levels and lag time are also considered to see how they affect the efficiency. It is shown that temperature variation is related to the intermittent period and that intermittence prolongs the heat transfer without reaching at an utmost temperature (operation limitation). An effectively controlled intermittent process can optimize the capacity of heat exchange units so as to achieve better application of the ground energy. Additionally, the intermittent control can decrease the number of GHEs of GSHP and LITES systems and keep better working conditions. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.