EARTHSHOT or Moonshot Revisited March 22 2018

We choose to go fossil-fuel free, and do the other things necessary to avert climate disaster, not because they are easy, but because they are RIGHT AND NECESSARY...

NYPA's Geothermal Energy Challenge February 17 2018

NYPA launches Geothermal Initiative

Conversation & E-mails with an Engineer about Geo Heat Pumps February 02 2018

I had occasion to speak about renewable heating with a community leader after a regular monthly police precinct meeting.

We talked generally about climate change and both stated our opposition to fracking. Then I said the next big thing coming down the road is a statewide push for non-fossil-fuel heating with geothermal heat pumps. He said he understood the geothermal ground loop brought 55 degree water into the house, but he didn’t get how that could heat a home.

I asked him if he knew how a heat pump worked. He said yes, he was an engineer. He interrupted several times as I explained how a refrigerator, one example of a heat pump, moved warm air out of the ice box and into the air in the kitchen. Had he noticed the heat around the refrigerant coils? Not really. However, that's how a geothermal heat pump works: it extracts the heat from the loop fluid, amplifies it and then sends it into the air handler.

He still didn't get it, so he asked me to send him some links to websites that explain it. I sent him an email titled "How heat pumps generate heat" attached with a PDF excerpted from the NYSERDA engineers and architects geothermal heat pump training given by my friend Jay Egg. I also sent him these links that I checked out to make sure they were pertinent:

How-the-Heck-Does-a-Heat-Pump-Get-Heat-from-Cold

heat-pumps-work-cold-weather/.

Both articles explain how heat pumps work, but are focused on air source heat pumps. I told him geothermal heat pumps start with lower temperatures in the summer (and higher ones in the winter) and don't require a defrost cycle, so they are more efficient.

I also sent him a link to the NY-GEO website and asked him to let me know what he thought.

His response was interesting, so I will quote it verbatim:



It was clear from this reply that he hadn't bothered to look at the PDF or links I so painstakingly vetted for him. Despite the subject of our discussion being geothermal heat pumps, he simply based his opinion on a letter from someone selling air source heat pumps. Perhaps this was the person he contacted before he chose his current heating system.

I was nonplussed by my acquaintance's response. He seemed to ask questions, but then not listen to the answers. I debated whether to continue the conversation. After two weeks or so, I wrote this reply:

1. rely on outside ambient heat (which, in winter, is colder than that underground) and
2. require a defrost cycle to keep the outdoor coils from freezing and shutting the system down. That happened to me once when I was staying with friends who had air source. (They had to call a technician to come to thaw out the coil.)

I have not heard back from him.

Why We Went Geo August 16 2016

... I think we made a great choice in investing our money. Since we save about $108 a month, it’s like getting a tax-free dividend check every month regardless of stock market fluctuations! How much do your stocks, bonds and mutual funds pay you?

New York City Gives a Thumbs Up to Geothermal Heat Pumps January 14 2016

The devastation wreaked by Superstorm Sandy in 2012 has had a profound impact on New York City’s residents and elected officials. Since Sandy, the city has been aggressively working to reduce its carbon footprint.

On Dec. 7, 2015, the New York City Council passed the geothermal energy bill Int. 0609-A-2015. On Jan. 7, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed the local law to amend the administrative code of the City of New York, in relation to the use of geothermal energy in the city.

Sponsored by Council Member Costa G. Constantinides, this bill requires New York City to identify and implement geothermal heat pump installations in all its new construction and retrofits when it is shown that doing so would be cost effective.

New York Geothermal Energy Organization (NY-GEO) member Bob Wyman, who testified in favor of this bill, wrote “I believe this is the first time that any major city in the US has adopted legislation requiring the use of the Social Cost of Carbon in making spending decisions.” The bill establishes this cost as starting at $128/per metric ton (based on the high end of the federal government’s estimates) over a 20-year period.

Wyman goes on to suggest “It may also be the first time that a city has committed to evaluating geothermal heat pumps for all new construction and retrofits and using them when cost effective.”

There are three requirements in the geothermal bill:

1. Identification of the types of geothermal systems and the buildings for which they would be suitable
2. Adoption of rules and registration requirements for those who design and install geothermal systems
3. Completion of a feasibility study of waterfront properties suitable for the installation of geothermal systems in marine surface waters.

Part of the identification process would include comparisons of conventional heating and cooling technologies with geothermal heat pumps regarding:

• Greenhouse gas emissions as a result of fuel and electricity consumption
• Impacts on criteria air pollutant concentrations
• Annual electricity consumption and impacts on peak demand reduction
• Potential revenue stream generated from the peak demand reduction using a dollar metric, where applicable
• Fuel and power costs
• Net present value of all alternatives considered, based on a 20-year life expectancy and capital costs, operations and maintenance, fuel costs, available federal, state and other non-city governmental funding assistance, and the social cost of carbon.

The bill also calls for an office or agency designated by the mayor to develop an online, publicly available screening tool no later than February 1, 2017. This tool will be used to determine whether an installation of a geothermal system may be cost-effective for a property.

It also requires:

• Setting up standards for the installation and maintenance of geothermal systems
• Determining qualifications for persons who will design or install such systems
• Maintaining a publicly available registry of such persons
• Informing property owners and installers of geothermal systems regarding the potential benefits of coupling a photovoltaic system with a geothermal system for buildings within the city
• Performing a technical and regulatory feasibility study on implementing a geothermal system for waterfront properties.

Geothermal installations are not new in New York City, but this enthusiastic move forward is. The Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, The Bronx Zoo and the Statue of Liberty are all heated and cooled with geothermal heat pumps. And Cornell University's planned NYC Tech Campus on Roosevelt Island will have a four-acre geothermal well field as part of its goal to be the largest net-zero energy building in the eastern United States.

Those with vision and a determination to deal with climate change are showing us all the way.

For another take on this legislation, see Jay Egg's blog on LinkedIn.

Governor Vetoes Both Geothermal Bills January 14 2016

Governor Cuomo has vetoed the geothermal tax credit and sales tax exemption bills.

This is very disappointing but we are prepared to move forward.

The rationale expressed was that the bills would impact state revenues and the appropriate venue for revenue impacting legislation is in the budget.

The 7 Wins of Pro Geothermal Heat Pump Legislation September 10 2015

 

Legislation supporting the growth of geothermal heat pump (GHP) systems will create multiple wins for New York State, its geothermal industry and customers, as well as New Yorkers in general.

1. It will make GHP systems more affordable and thus more economically attractive to all. Since geothermal heating and cooling is more efficient than conventional (oil, natural gas, propane and electric) systems, it uses less energy.
   
   
2. As more residential and commercial property owners install geothermal heat pumps not only will their overall energy bills decrease, but so will the summer peak load demand on our electric grid. Peak demand is a major factor in setting and driving up electric rates.
   
   
3. Although overall electricity consumption will increase, it will occur in the winter. Reducing peak demand in summer and adding to the electric load in winter (when its usage is otherwise low) increases the overall utilization of power plants. This evening-out of use can help to reduce electricity costs for all ratepayers in New York State.
   
   The New York State Department of Public Service estimates that each 1% improvement in system efficiency (i.e. annual power plant capacity utilization) will yield from $221 to $330 million in annual savings to ratepayers across the state. This is due to lower supply and delivery investment needs.
   
   
4. As similar legislation has aided the solar industry in creating thousands of jobs in our state, this same strategy will allow the burgeoning New York State GHP industry to become both more competitively priced and profitable. This sets up a positive feedback loop making it easier for more residential and commercial property owners to switch.
   
   
5. It will provide more well-paying jobs—that cannot be outsourced—to help grow our economy. Occupations such as geothermal designers and engineers, installers, drillers and excavators, service providers, equipment distributors and manufacturers will be in greater demand.
   
   
6. At the same time, this technology’s many benefits will help New York State meet its renewable energy and energy efficiency goals (“80 by 50”) as outlined in the 2015 New York Energy Plan and the Public Service Commission’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) initiative.
   
   
7. The final winner will be New York State’s environment. As more consumers convert to non-combustion heating, smoke, particulate matter and greenhouse gases—which are implicated in climate change—will decrease. Cleaner air helps our most vulnerable residents—young children, the elderly and anyone with a respiratory condition—to breathe easier. And everyone benefits when climate change is abated.

Heat without fire. Cool with the ground.

©2015 Billii Roberti. Used with permission.

 

 

 

Buffalo News Article cites NY-GEO Member August 10 2015

The Buffalo News cites NY-GEO Member Buffalo Geothermal and Natale Builders in their article Nature Watch: We should tap into the energy stored in the ground

Rivera Greens January 17 2015

Rivera Greens, New York State’s first green development, features geothermal Natale Builders’ newest development — Rivera Greens — in Clarence, N.Y., includes 35 single-family homes built to an energy efficiency standard unparalleled in the Buffalo/Niagara region. In fact, Rivera Greens is the first certified National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Green Standards Eco-Friendly Development in New York State. All home designs in the development are ENERGY STAR® rated and are expected to save homeowners 60 to 100 percent of their utility bills. What’s more, the builder is committed to offering these homes at no extra cost to its customers, demonstrating a new standard in home building and leading the way by applying cutting-edge energy-efficient technology, including geothermal heating and cooling systems. Full Article See Live Operating Data:

21st Century Heating & Cooling January 17 2015

Are you concerned about how to keep your home warm as fossil fuel supplies continue to dwindle and the price rises?

Are you concerned about the air pollution your furnace or boiler is sending up your chimney?

Do you wonder if there is an alternative to high electric bills from air conditioning in the summer?

Geothermal heating and cooling can allay your concerns. It is the most efficient way to condition indoor spaces, by drawing up heat from the ground in winter and returning it in summer.