Geothermal Digest » Ground Source

N.J. land conservancy group switches to geothermal

admin — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 13:52:41 +0000

In New Jersey, the headquarters building of the state’s Land Conservancy has cut its use of heating oil and its energy bill in half by switching to geothermal energy. The use of fossil fuels in the building should drop from about 1,500 to 100 gallons a year. The system uses a 600 foot-deep well drilled last month to pump water which is used to heat and cool the building located in Wild Acres Preserve. The $63,000 project was covered nearly in full by a $50,000 grant from the F.M. Kirby Foundation.

Land Conservancy walks the talk with new ground source system

admin — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 15:37:16 +0000

In New Jersey, the state’s Land Conservancy has installed a new geothermal heating and cooling system in its WildAcres Preserve headquarters in Montville Township. A grant from the F.M. Kirby Foundation paid for the system, which the Conservancy says will reduce their energy bills by 50%. The system uses a 580-foot water well, which took about a week to complete, with a pump placed 100 feet down. The water, which remains a consistent 55 degrees year-round, is pumped into the building’s new heat exchangers.

GeothermalGenius Launches sweepstakes to spur awareness

admin — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:15:17 +0000

In Pennsylvania, GeothermalGenius has launched the “Free Heat Beneath Your Feet” Sweepstakes, providing one lucky homeowner electric compensation for an entire winter. Current geothermal heat pump consumers can enter to win electric bill compensation by sharing their experience with a geothermal heat pump. Property owners who use geoexchange to heat and cool their home can post a testimonial on GeothermalGenius.org to be automatically entered to win electric bill compensation for an entire winter. “We have found that homeowners who currently use geothermal heat pumps are very enthusiastic about sharing their success stories,” said GeothermalGenius CEO Joshua Kresge. “We want to reward residential geothermal users who help spread the word about this green technology.” A winner will be drawn November 15.

New rules protect drinking water from ground source wells in PA

admin — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 22:20:24 +0000

In Pennsylvania, and perhaps coming to a neighborhood near you, concern have been expressed about contaminants seeping through holes drilled for wells and geothermal heating and cooling systems. A new provision from the Centre Region housing code requires wells drilled below 20 feet to be sealed with impermeable substances such as bentonite clay. The first permit was recently issued by the Centre Region Code Agency under the provision, which is designed to protect the Spring Creek Watershed, which supplies all the drinking water to the region.

City starts its own ground source geothermal utility

admin — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 18:31:39 +0000

In Michigan, the city council of Wyandotte has approved the creation of a heating and cooling geothermal utility. The clever and daring concept would have the utility drilling ground source wells in utility easements, and have homes sharing wells. Wyandotte Municipal Services is partnering with Hardin Geotech to help start the utility, develop well fields and assist getting customers connected. The city’s municipal services will take up the average $8,000 cost for wells, replace with a monthly fee. And it is counting on the federal government continuing the 30% percent tax credit being offered to consumers through 2016 on the cost of a geothermal pump.

Group develops heat pump for re-heating GT water

admin — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 23:29:23 +0000

In Eastern Europe, a team of businesses and researchers in Serbia and Slovenia, with support from the Eureka Network, has developed a heat pump technology that effectively reuses geothermal water as a secondary source of heat. A deep geothermal well supplies the town of Lendava, Slovenia with water for heating various types of buildings. The water temperature of 70°C falls to 50°C once used – not warm enough to be re-used for space heating but too warm to be put back into the well. Professor Darko Goricanec from the University of Maribor come up with a high-temperature heat pump that reheats the source water to 80°C, which is hot enough to be reused for space heating. Geoterm and the University, both based in Slovenia, Serbian business partner Klima and its parent company Mayekawa in Belgium, developed the prototype.

Rocky terrain stops ground source heating, cooling system

admin — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 21:44:04 +0000

In Pennsylvania, geothermal heating and cooling systems have been the order of the day in all school construction projects in one district in recent years, but the intermediate school proposed for Manheim Township school board will not use the technology. The Landis Run School, if built, would use a natural gas/electric heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system. A geothermal design was rejected, in part, because of the potentially excessive cost of drilling a well field on what is a rocky site. The proposed natural gas/electric system was said also to offer a quicker payback than a geothermal system in energy savings.

DOE stops heat pump sales for standards violations

admin — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 17:27:17 +0000

In Washington, DC, the Department of Energy ordered three manufacturers – Aspen Manufacturing, Inc., Summit Manufacturing, and Advanced Distributor Products – to stop distributing 61 heat pump models and 1 air conditioner model that DOE determined do not comply with federal energy conservation standards. The manufacturers also must notify all of their customers that have been sold noncompliant units. The department determined that these models were noncompliant based on certification information submitted to DOE for these manufacturers.

Geothermal business sparks growth for St. Paul contractor

admin — Sun, 30 May 2010 19:46:23 +0000

In Minnesota, a mechanical contractor is adding jobs, thanks to its expertise in ground-source geothermal. Harris Cos revenue slip in 2009 by only 15% in an industry that slumped some 50% between 2007 and 2009. Further, with a record backlog for the next 18 months, the company expects to increase employment by 15%. Harris CEO Greg Hosch said “It’s (green building) something that’s been slow to catch on in our industry. But it’s also the right thing to do, to help people to pay for projects out of energy savings in the long run. And we make money at it.”

Heat pump installation regulation data compiled

admin — Sun, 23 May 2010 20:16:59 +0000

In Ohio, the National Ground Water Association (NGWA) has compiled geothermal heat pump system installation regulations in the U.S. The other survey cosponsors are the Ground Water Protection Council, GeoExchange, and the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association. NGWA says the “2009/2010 Geothermal Heating and Cooling Systems State Regulatory Oversight Survey” represents the most complete, accurate, and up-to-date information for geothermal system regulation available. The survey allows readers to compare state-by-state regulations as well as aggregate data on all responding states.