Need a professional?  Click here to search by State or Province,
or click on the Find A Pro tab above  to see all the GeoExchange Directory categories, including Manufacturers, Utilities, Architects and Engineers.  You can also search alphabetically on the Directory to find a specific company by name.

Read more: Find A Contractor or Manufacturer

Gulf Power in Pensacola Florida was presented an engineering award for the hybrid geothermal heat pump system at the Marriott Springhill Suites hotel on Pensacola Beach, Florida.  The closed-loop system provides heating and cooling for the hotel, along with hotel hot water, outdoor pool heating and ice machine operation.  Click here for all the details.

30% tax credit for homeowners who install geothermal heat pump systems in 2009 and later years.  For systems placed in service in 2008, the $2,000 lilmit still applies  So, for example, if a homeowner pays $15,000 for a geothermal heat pump system installed in 2009, a tax credit of $4,500 could apply.

For systems placed in service in 2008, use IRS 2008 Form 5695 for the Residential Energy Efficient Property Credit to claim the $2,000 tax credit for Energy Star geothermal heat pumps.  You can view and download the form at the following link: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5695.pdf    Line 18 on the form is where you enter "Qualified geothermal heat pump property costs", Line 19 is where you multiply costs by 30%, and Line 20 displays the $2,000 "Maximum credit amount" for 2008.

If you use TurboTax, look for the "Home Energy Credits" topic under Personal Deductions and Credits for Your Home.  TurboTax provides an input box to enter the amount you paid for Geothermal heat pump property in 2008.  As usual, contact your tax professional for applicability to your specific situation.

Read more: Stimulus Bill Increases Homeowner Tax Credit

Geothermal / GeoExchange^® heating and cooling uses the relatively constant temperature of the earth to heat and cool homes and businesses with 40% to 70% less energy than conventional systems. While conventional furnaces and boilers burn a fuel to generate heat, geothermal heat pumps use electricity to simply move heat from the earth into buildings, allowing much higher efficiencies. The most efficient fuel-burning heater can reach efficiencies around 95%, but a geothermal heat pump can move up to 4 units of heat for every unit of electricity needed to power the system, resulting in a practical equivalence of over 400% efficiency. To learn more about GeoExchange, select a topic from the Resources menu above.

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory has just published a comprehensive new report on geothermal heat pumps.  To read the full report go to  ornl232.geoexchange.org or http://www.zebralliance.com/docs/geothermal_report_12-08.pdf

The report can be discussed on the GeoExchange Forum.

Read more: New DOE Report on Geothermal Heat Pumps

Forums provide the opportunity to view and/or join discussions on topics of interest with anyone else who visits the same forum.

The GeoExchange Forum includes a General Discussion area, as well as discussions about Federal and State legislative and regulatory activities. To see what it's all about, click on http://www.geoexchange.org/forums/#geothermal-geoexchange-forums.

Read more: GeoExchange Forum - Visit Today !

Geothermal heating and air conditioning is rapidly growing throughout North America.  Interested in joining us?  Engineers and system designers can become Certified GeoExchange ^® Designers through the Association of Energy Engineers with training provided by the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association.

Heating and air conditioning contractors, drilling companies and excavators can expand business opportunities by taking IGSHPA Accredited Installer Training or IGSHPA Accredited Driller Training. This training also includes training in heat fusion of high density polyethylene (HDPE) geothermal pipe and fitting.

For more information, contact AEE at http://www.aeecenter.org/certification/ and IGSHPA at http://www.igshpa.okstate.edu/training/training.htm

GeoExchange, geothermal, ground source, water source, earth source, earth energy, and on and on.

What do they all mean ?

All of these terms are related, and some of them are interchangeable. GeoExchange and its associated logo (shown above) are registered trademarks of the Geothermal Heat Pump Consortium, Inc., and are intended to differentiate products or services that rely on the unique features of geothermal heat pump systems. The term itself is made up of two parts: "Geo" refers to the earth itself, and "Exchange" indicates the process used by geothermal heat pumps to move heat to or from the earth to heat and cool homes, businesses or government facilities.

Read more: What's In A Name ??