Despite an increasing use world-wide of geothermal energy foundations there is a lack of published guidelines and results from thermal response testing of such installations. In this paper the results from thermal response, thermal recovery and laboratory thermal testing performed at two sites in Ireland are presented. Some practical issues concerned with use of thermal response testing rigs, designed for use with deep boreholes, on relatively short piles are discussed and addressed. Given the relatively short geothermally active depth of the energy foundations tested and due to the fact that the UCD thermal response testing rig has been designed primarily for testing on medium and deep geothermal boreholes, shorter thermal response test durations than are normally