The possibility of underground imbalance between heat emission and absorption has a negative impact on the performance of ground-source heat pump systems （GSHPs）. Numerical and experimental researches were made in a residential building, which is supplied with a GSHP system and a ceiling radiation system combined with a replacement fresh air system. EnergyPlus simulations were used to estimate heating and cooling loads, and to assess the heat generated from the water pump, the fan and the heat pump unit. Then, Fluent simulations were used to compare three different control strategies of handling the underground heat exchange. These simulations were strongly based on an experimentally verified model. It is obtained that a ratio between cooling and heating loads is 5.08 ： 1 in a case study in Nanjing. Moreover, the control strategy based on the starting time is more efficient and reliable than the temperature and temperature difference strategies to control the underground heat exchange.
