The goal of the present study is to validate the cooling performance of a ground-coupled heat pump system established in Firat University, Elazig (38.41 degrees N, 39.14 degrees E), Turkey. The cooling load of the test room was 3.1 kW at design conditions. The experimental results were obtained from June to September in cooling season of 2003. The ground heat exchanger was used, and it was buried with in 2 m depth trench. The average cooling performance coefficient of the system (COPoverall) was obtained to be 2.01. The results obtained from experimental measurement showed that these systems could be used safely, reliably and efficiently at the lowest possible cost for Elazig, Turkey climatic conditions. Especially, the seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) of this system is moderate at longer-term testing. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.