The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 passed in January 2013 retroactively extends tax credits for homeowners replacing heating and cooling equipment for their primary residence with qualifying, high-efficiency geothermal heat pumps. Tax credits are available for 2013 and retroactive to January 1, 2012. To qualify for a federal tax credit , there are efficiency requirements of 15 SEER / 12.5 EER / 8.5 HSPF for geothermal heat pumps. Geothermal heat pump purchase must be for your principal residence and be “placed in service” between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2013. “Placed in service” means when the original installation of the geothermal heat pump is completed. Geothermal heat pumps placed in service starting in 2009 are eligible for a tax credit equal to 30 percent of their installed cost, with no maximum.
Missouri Geothermal Heatingand Cooling Contractors
Hoffmann Brothers is the St. Louis, Missouri Geothermal Heatingand Cooling Contractor. Another local geothermal contractors iare Sheet Metal Contractors. They serve St. Louis, Jefferson, Franklin, St. Francis and Ste Genevieve in addition to Madison, St. Clair, Monroe and Randolph county.
Geothermal contractors
It is very important to find good local geothermal contractors to Install a geothermal heat pump system. The quality of the installation definitely plays a large part in determining the efficiency of the geothermal heating and cooling system. The quality contractor should perform a proper Heatload Calculation until a contract is signed or an upfront fee is paid. Look for experienced geothermal contractor and an driller who is familiar with the local terrain.
The Ontario Geothermal Association is a not-for-profit corporation helping to advance Ontario's geothermal industry. They link consumers with local geothermal contractors. I made a list of few geothermal contractors in Ontario with good reviews.
Golder Associates Ltd
geothermal contractor, geothermal heat pump systems designer, professional engineers
Phone: 905-567-6100 ext.1169
Waterloo Energy Products
residential geothermal systems installer, commercial heat pump installer, contractor
Phone:519-648-9977
Ground Heat Systems International Inc.
Services: residential heat pump installer, commercial heat pump installer and geothermal contractor
Phone:416-410-0586
Canadian Geothermal Heat Projects Funding
Canoe Reach, Province of British Columbia
Borealis GeoPower obtained the geothermal exploration permits from the BC Ministry of Energy on October 17, 2010. The Canoe Reach Geothermal Project is a notional +/- 10 MWe standard hydrothermal project that is currently in the midst of exploration and assessment. It’s development would represent the first commercial geothermal power production in the Province of British Columbia and the first, fully green, baseload power generation alternative to large scale hydro in the Province.
Private funding
Ft. Liard Demonstration Project
A geothermal demonstration project has been approved for funding in the amount of $10-20 million under the Natural Resources Clean Energy Fund in the small northern community of Ft. Liard, NWT. The project, which is a collaborative effort between the federal government, the Acho Dene Koe First Nation and Borealis GeoPower Inc., aims to deliver a minimum of +/-1 MWe of electrical power (Phase I) and also +/- 1 MWth of direct heat (Phase II) to the Ft. Liard community (~750 homes) and it’s local greenhouse complex.
Private & public funding, recipient of CEF award between $10-20 M
Saskatchewan, Rafferty Project/ DEEP Earth Energy Production
DEEP has received its first exclusive area for geothermal power development from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy and Resources. With the assistance of a third party consultant, Borealis Geopower, an
initial resource estimate has been completed with a positive outcome. The assessment suggests the economic viability of small geothermal power plants ( < 5 MW), but with additional rights secured on subsequent locations, DEEP can potentially achieve > 50 MW of clean power production. While the project is privately funded, DEEP was selected in SaskPower’s 2011 Green Options Partners Program Lottery for a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), which will help in raising capital for initial geothermal drilling, expected to commence in 2013.
Type of funding: Privately funded. Currently raising funding in private sector.
Borealis GeoPower obtained the geothermal exploration permits from the BC Ministry of Energy on October 17, 2010. The Canoe Reach Geothermal Project is a notional +/- 10 MWe standard hydrothermal project that is currently in the midst of exploration and assessment. It’s development would represent the first commercial geothermal power production in the Province of British Columbia and the first, fully green, baseload power generation alternative to large scale hydro in the Province.
Private funding
Ft. Liard Demonstration Project
A geothermal demonstration project has been approved for funding in the amount of $10-20 million under the Natural Resources Clean Energy Fund in the small northern community of Ft. Liard, NWT. The project, which is a collaborative effort between the federal government, the Acho Dene Koe First Nation and Borealis GeoPower Inc., aims to deliver a minimum of +/-1 MWe of electrical power (Phase I) and also +/- 1 MWth of direct heat (Phase II) to the Ft. Liard community (~750 homes) and it’s local greenhouse complex.
Private & public funding, recipient of CEF award between $10-20 M
Saskatchewan, Rafferty Project/ DEEP Earth Energy Production
DEEP has received its first exclusive area for geothermal power development from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy and Resources. With the assistance of a third party consultant, Borealis Geopower, an
initial resource estimate has been completed with a positive outcome. The assessment suggests the economic viability of small geothermal power plants ( < 5 MW), but with additional rights secured on subsequent locations, DEEP can potentially achieve > 50 MW of clean power production. While the project is privately funded, DEEP was selected in SaskPower’s 2011 Green Options Partners Program Lottery for a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), which will help in raising capital for initial geothermal drilling, expected to commence in 2013.
Type of funding: Privately funded. Currently raising funding in private sector.
Geothermal exploration in East Africa Rift Valley States (EARS)
The Icelandic International Development Agency (ICEIDA) and the Nordic
Development Fund (NDF) have launched a new project to support geothermal exploration in East Africa Rift Valley States (EARS) covering 13 countries: Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, DR Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
Geothermal project funding covers reconnaissance and geothermal exploration leading up to exploratory drilling, training, e.g. through the UNU Geothermal Training Programme, institutional capacity building and policy and legal framework for geothermal utilization.
At the end of the project it is expected that participating countries have:
1) a realistic assessment of potential geothermal sites,
2) plans for further action where applicable,
3) capacity to move forward on the basis of those plans and submit exploration drilling projects into funding pipelines
Slinky loops design. Horizontal geothermal heat pump istallations.
Slinky loops are made of geothermal pipe that is coiled into many loops and buried in horizontally dug trenches in the earth. The plastic heat exchanger pipes are typically laid flat in a circular pattern at the bottom of a trench. The Slinky Loop design is a horizontal closed loop designed for areas of less land and shorter trenching. This loop requires more pipe, but less land (and excavating cost) than a single pipe trenched horizontal loop. It will often require a larger diameter pipe, and thus more antifreeze (making it more costly), than a single-pipe, trenched horizontal loop. Other design factors should be considered with a slinky loop system, so be sure to ask your contractor about the loop design parameters.
Residedental geothermal heat pump design recommendations in the Tennessee Valley
A set of recommendations for loop sizing, piping guidelines, piping arrangements, and antifreeze precautions is provided for Residential & Light Commercial geothermal heat pump installations
These residential closed-loop ground source heat pump (a.k.a geothermal or groundcoupled heat pumps) design guidelines were developed in conjunction with a project sponsored by the Tennessee Valley Authority in conjunction with a TVA Ground Source Heat Pumps promotion.Previous guidelines were verified and adjusted according to data gathered during this effort and previous similar projects. A set of recommendations for loop sizing, piping guidelines, piping arrangements, and antifreeze precautions is provided. They attempt to balance the conflicting constraints of installation cost and efficiency. These guidelines have recently been extended to regions beyond the TVA service territory.
Loop Lengths
Table 1 provides recommendations for ground loops in the Tennessee Valley Authority service area and beyond. The values use results from this TVA sponsored project coupled with a previous Alabama Power project and the resulting recommendations for Alabama (Kavanaugh, 1991). The length of the trench or bore must be based on the amount of pipe in the trench, burial depth, and average ground temperature and conductivity. The table provides extremes of pipe length per length of trench from 10 ft/ft (i.e. 1000 ft. of pipe in a 100 ft. long trench) to 2 ft/ft. The table was developed for an average burial depth of 5 ft. and ¾” high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe. The extremes of normal ground temperature are 44 F for the northern continental US and 70 in southern USA (not including southern Florida and Texas and all of Hawaii). These lengths should provide a maximum loop temperature of 90 F entering the heat pump in
normal applications. In homes with excessive run times this temperature will be 3 to 5 F higher.
The table also includes recommendations for vertical ground loops in ft. of bore per ton for ¾” and 1-1/4” HDPE, which will operate about 5 F cooler than the horizontal loops.
Table 1. Recommended Lengths of Trench or Bore Per Ton For GCHPs
Multiply length of trench by pitch to find required length of pipe.
Installing a geothermal heat pump (horizontal loop) What you need to know.
Installing a slinky loop ground source heat pump.
Digging, pipes, hole size, deep
We run the 50 degree water through a heat pump. By compressing Freon, we draw heat from the 50 degree water, and return it to the underground pipe at say 40 degrees. For cooling, we reverse the hybrid heat pump, and return it to the underground pipe at 60 degrees.
Heat pump maintenance and repair
Why regular service is very important. Avoid Costly Heat Pump Repair: Schedule Heat Pump Maintenance
Spring and fall are the best times to schedule preventive heat pump maintenance. Тhe weather is at its mildest, and the service prepares your heat pump for the upcoming heating and cooling seasons. While I recommend at least one annual visit per year for heat pumps, we do encourage a second visit as well since the system will be used for both heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. These visits should be timed to occur just before the beginning of each season and can be scheduled well in advance as part of an annual maintenance plan. Regularly maintaining the home heat pump provides the following benefits:- The heat pump operates more efficiently. Maintanance services that improve heat pump efficiency include changing the filter, sealing ductwork leaks and verifying proper refrigerant charge.
- Longer life span of the heat pump
- More efficient. Heat pump equipment, which lowers your bills and helps the environment. Fixing refrigerant leaks, lubricating the motor and cleaning away dirt all help to lower energy consumption.
- Improved comfot. Measures that improve your comfort include verifying correct electric control, calibrating the thermostat and ensuring that no return and supply registers are blocked.
Geothermal heat pump pipes earns spcial sertification
The CenFuse geothermal pipes were certified by NSF International, an independent global organization that writes standards, and tests and certifies products for the water, food, health-sciences and consumer-goods markets.
The certification provides engineers, distributors and heat pump contractors assurance that not only the pipe but the entire ground-loop heat pump meet safety and quality levels, according to David Schnase, vice president of sales and marketing for the company in Hastings, Neb.
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