Monday, October 13, 2008

Tax credits approved for geothermal heat pumps


The $700 billion bailout measure, or "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act," provides for a tax credit for up to $2,000 per system for homeowners who have installed geothermal systems in 2008 through 2016. A credit for nonresidential systems is equal to 10 percent of total installation cost.

According to the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association, this is the first time that geothermal heat pumps are defined explicitly as renewable energy. [right, how a geothermal heat pump works. Copyright, Iternational Ground Source Heat Pump Association]

Arizona has few geothermal heat pump installations in part because of a perception that our dry desert soils are not conducive. However, at the recent AZ Geothermal Working Group meeting in Tucson, the experts say that proper siting and engineering can make these systems just as effective as those in the Albuquerque basin which is geologically similar to much of southern Arizona, in terms of geothermal potential.

[Thanks to geology.com for spotting this news item.]

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:02 AM

    I live in Mesa, and I'm very interested in geothermal heating and cooling because of the 80%reduction in resources required to heat and cool a home. It seems logical to me to install a geothermal heat pump first, and then put in a PV solar array to produce the remaining required electricity. (Without a geothermal system, a PV array would have to be much larger.)

    Are there engineers in the Phoenix area who can properly site and engineer a residential geothermal system?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Water or glycol is injected into pipes and circulated underground to exchange the heat or absence of it with the constant temperature of the ground outside. Such systems are always closed when they simply circulate underground, but may also be open systems that have intake and outtake pipes submerged deep into a nearby lake or pond.

    New York City Hvac contractors

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  3. Geothermal Heat Pumps or GHPs can use 30-60% less energy than conventional HVAC systems, Geothermal systems are also quieter and require less maintenance. Geothermal Heat Pumps are not limited to heating, they can also be use for cooling and in some cases they can even be used as water heaters.

    NYC Ac contractors

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is so well-written and understandable. I wish it could be published. I think we all would have a much better idea of what's really going on. I'm looking forward to more.

    ReplyDelete