New York City GEOTHERMAL HEATING & COOLING WORKSHOP on September 9, 2015

St. Patrick's Cathedral has Geothermal

New York City GEOTHERMAL HEATING & COOLING WORKSHOP  on September 9, 2015 at the NYC Transit Building, 2 Broadway, NY, NY 10004

This program is geared toward building owners, potential end-users and professionals that design, install, finance, inspect, maintain, approve, recommend or regulate geothermal systems.

Geothermal is the most cost effective technology for reducing CO2 emissions, heating and cooling costs for buildings. This program will bring you up to speed on the latest technology applications in the ground-source heating and cooling industry. This is a MUST-ATTEND program for anybody wanting to retrofit or build new homes, multifamily units or commercial buildings.

The program will include continuing education credits:

CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT ARCHITECT CREDITS – 7.25 LUS (FOR HSW) COURSE GS1405-K AND NY ENGINEER – 7.25 – COURSE GS1405-K BOTH THRU AMERICAN INST. OF ARCHITECTS (PROVIDER #G521) IGSHPA ACCREDITED INSTALLERS – 0.75 CEU’S

The Geothermal Workshop in NYC on September 9^th is featuring presenters such as Thomas Abdallah, Chief, Environmental Engineering, MTA New York City Transit NY and Samara Swanston, Legislative Attorney, NYC Council Infrastructure Division, Committee on Environmental Protection, New York, NY.

All attendees MUST PRE-REGISTER (registration and payment made by September 7 at 5PM) and show photo identification to security when entering the building. If you are not on the registration list you will not be able to attend.

The program draws on the experience & expertise of industry and agency professionals and will provide a unique opportunity for exchange of information among policy makers involved in energy issues and specialists involved with the design, construction and permitting of ground source geothermal systems for cooling and heating.  Geothermal has the potential to become the technology of choice among those considering “green energy” options for commercial or residential installations.  This one-day program is an incredible opportunity to learn from experienced professionals who are on the forefront of geothermal innovation.  

Pittsburgh Geothermal Field Trip: Frick Park Environmental Center

"Frick Park Environmental Center" Geothermal Tour
(Marijke Hecht and Arlene Anderson are Pictured at the Center)
Photo: Kirsi Jansa

"GEOTHERMAL" IS ONE WORD THAT SHOULD DENOTE A SINGULAR VISION in the collective minds of consumers; “Energy from the Earth”.

“Refreshing” is another word that describes how the Geothermal Direct Use Technology & Marketplace Forum was conducted in Pittsburgh on August 17^th.

There is a good movement afoot at the DOE’s Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), and it involves “connecting” all of the ways that we harvest energy from the earth in a practical a sensible way.  There are certain situations where reservoirs of hot water are economically accessible for direct use in buildings, and there are even more opportunities (speaking geographically) to harvest low temperature geothermal resources, for “ground source heat pump” (GSHP) technologies.

The workshop involved an impressive cross section of expertise, featuring speakers from as far away as Iceland that shared their applied expertise on geothermal.

The day ended with a brisk forum in which attendees contributed real advice that will help government to provide real benefits to the geothermal industry. There will be a full report on these efforts on the DOE’s website soon.

Participants that were fortunate enough to stay over were treated to an impressive tour of Pittsburgh’s “Frick Park Environmental Center” on Tuesday, August 18^th. Marijke Hecht, the Director of Education for the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy conducted the tour.  Her passion for children, STEM education, renewable energy and sustainable technologies was evident. The tour ended at the geothermal loop-field termination inside the building.  Marijke said that since geothermal heating and cooling is all but “invisible”, she is going to leave a portion of this piping visible to visitors with a display explaining the geothermal heating and cooling process.

Arlene Anderson, Technology Manager at the GTO will attend the American Ground Water Trust (AGWT) New York Geothermal Workshop on September 9th, 2015. Arlene will also represent the GTO at the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association’s (IGSHPA) Technical Conference and Expo in Kansas City, October 5-8, 2015.

Ever since DOE employees attended a workshop/field trip to the Kentlands Community Center in Gaithersburg, MD where geothermal energy heats and cools the community center from a pair of standing column wells (SCW). They (the GTO) appear to be in “hot pursuit” of ways to facilitate more widespread implementation of deep direct use and geothermal heating and cooling. The GTO Systems Analysis and Low-Temperature Team that Arlene belongs to is benchmarking geothermal technologies that use low-temperature geothermal in the Eastern U.S. and other regions. Arlene said that the team is interested in understanding the potential for deep direct use and GSHP in the U.S.

The International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA) and the Geothermal Exchange Organization (GEO) are your resources for helping in these efforts.

Don’t forget to get your name and support on the National Geothermal Day website. These are the groups to which you and others can and should go to get information, training and list your company as a geothermal heating and cooling entity.

Geothermal Direct Use Technology & Marketplace Forum to Focus on Low Temp

– Monday August 17, 2015, Pittsburgh, PA

The Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Office (DOE GTO) and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) have teamed up to bring a geothermal workshop/forum in which participants in the industry will be asked to provide personal experience, individual advice and information regarding low temperature (geothermal heat pumps) and direct use geothermal applications in the Eastern US.

The agenda includes presentations of current geothermal projects implementation from scholars and experts from the Eastern US and Iceland.

Workshop Agenda

"This workshop is a forum to exchange information on low temperature (GSHP) geothermal applications. To that end, participants will be asked to provide recommendations and information based on personal experience, individual advice, information, or facts regarding this topic. The objective of the workshop is not to obtain any group position or consensus; rather, the DOE is seeking as many recommendations as possible from all individuals at this meeting."

Some attendees will be touring the newly completed Frick Park Environmental Center GSHP installation on Tuesday morning.

Hilton Garden Inn Pittsburgh/Southpointe 1000 Corporate Dr, Canonsburg, PA 15317

Full Agenda (PDF)

The Geothermal Generation Gap

All "Geothermal" is Renewable Energy From the Earth

Jefferson Tester has a name that is recognized far and wide for geothermal technologies. His accomplishments at Cornell University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are cited far and wide. But isn’t Tester just interested in “hot geothermal”?

Cornell GSHP Research
in "Geo-Outlook"

Closing the Generation Gap

Any dividing lines between the hot/direct-use geothermal and ground source heat pumps (GSHP’s) are closing rapidly. In this month’s trade magazine from the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA), an article entitled, “Cornell Researching GSHP Use for Verizon” features some of Tester’s work toward GSHP implementation.

Next month, Tester will be among those featured at a Geothermal Marketplace Workshop to be held August 17^th in Pittsburgh, sponsored by the DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). Tester will be talking about GSHP’s.

Many special guests will be in attendance.  Bob Wyman will be sharing his updated paper, “Factors for Evaluating Heating Alternatives in New York State”.  A list of those expected to attend include David Danielson, Director of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), James Critchfield, the EPA’s Director of Green Power Partnerships,  and Tholeikur Johannesson, an expert on large scale geothermal (including GSHP's) from Iceland, in addition to an impressive list of leaders from the DOE.

GSHP's and Hot Geothermal Together at Cornell University

The application and utilization of GSHP’s completes the picture for something Tester calls “Thermal-Cascade”.  Simply put, Cascade is the process of wringing every economically feasible BTU out of the geothermal process possible.  We all know that a GSHP can provide 5 units of energy for each unit consumed, effectively exchanging energy with fluids between 25F and 110F.

Consumers continue to be puzzled by geothermal, and that’s part of the reason that experts and contractors may “talk down” to them (consumers). Questions such as, “how far will you have to drill for hot water...?” are met with answers that are confusing to the layman, frustrating to the expert (having explained geothermal countless times), and just not as shiny and simple as other great "renewables" like solar. Perhaps we needn’t explain quite so much.  I certainly don’t understand all of the operating systems that make my Android function, but it works great.  Not many people will ever understand all of the ways to utilize the earth for renewable energy.  But, Geothermal works great.

“Within your lifetime, the house you live in will 

probably be heated and cooled by geothermal energy”

Geothermal: 24/7

The environmental and economic benefits of geothermal energy and its vital role in building a clean and secure energy future are vital and necessary.  We continue to invite industry partners, communities, businesses and educators to join efforts to advance further understanding and acceptance of geothermal technology as an unlimited, renewable form of energy.

We’re on the right track, with National Geothermal Day coming up on October 20^th, 2015. Feel free to join in by co-creating and sharing educational resources and participating in interactive activities in local communities and on-line. Attend workshops and keep sharing the simple truths about geothermal as a whole.  Let’s close the Geothermal Generation Gap. 

Thermal Cascade/Connectivity in the City

“National Geothermal Day” Announced at AHR Chicago

"National Geothermal Day" Campaign To Focus on Education #GeoDay2015

The Geothermal HVAC industry is coming together to educate consumers with a pointed campaign that will culminate in a “National Geothermal Day” proclamation on October 20^th during National Energy Month. Geothermal HVAC is Solar Energy stored in the ground beneath us, and this educational campaign will enlighten consumers and school-aged youth on this truth.

Geothermal HVAC Field Trip for the US Department of Energy

DOE Employees Enjoy Geothermal Comfort

"...It's just so quiet and there's not much to see..." Those were some of the comments uttered as Department of Energy employees got to have a day away from the office...

Each year, The National Energy Education Development Project (NEED) a division of the US Department of Energy hosts a series of “Energy Industry Study Workshops” in which they get up to date on the latest renewable energy advances.  Geothermal Heating and Cooling technologies were the focus on December 4^th as a cross-section DOE employees were shuttled by bus up to Gaithersburg, MD on a field trip to the Kentlands Community Center.

Several DOE divisions including the Energy Information Administration (EIA), Building Technologies Office (BTO), and the Geothermal Office arrived at about 10:00 in the morning for a refresher course on geothermal heating and cooling, followed by a case study on the geothermal heat pump systems that provide the heating and cooling for Kentlands Clubhouse.