Presentation slides from the March ACCA New England Dinner on Selling Geothermal Projects

1. Chris Williams, Martin Orio
Roger Skillings, and Mike Brogan

2. Chris Williams
Water Energy Distributors, Inc. - copyright 2012

3. How to Make Money in
Geothermal Heat Pumps
How to test your market
and reduce risk in the
shortest amount of time
possible.

4. HeatSpring
 5,000 Professionals Trained
 Keep in touch with best practices - What are
the most profitable geothermal companies
doing and why?
 Everyone shouldn’t install geothermal
 1 - Test your market
 2 - Get the partners
 3 - Create referral business

5. Testing Your Market

8. 1. Testing your Market
 Potential Profit. 30k to 50k gross, 10-15% net profit.
 Could be a large opportunity, but only if you access to
the right customers in the right markets.
 Your strategy should be to survey old customers and
ask all new ones.
 Profile of the best and easiest geothermal customers
 Expensive fuel source: propane, oil, electric,
biomass
 Larger then 2,500 square feet building
 Owns their home
 Large lawn/property
 Go to blog.heatspring.com/ACCANE to download a
geothermal site visit checklist that will help you profile
and quality customers.

9. Testing Market Goals
 You're only goal is to schedule a site visit.
 Tag lines to get customers interested:
 “Reduce heating bills by 70%”
 “Geothermal has better returns then the
stock market”
 Better then 10% returns. 20k invested
will save at least 2k every year, for the
next 30 years.
 “If you use a traditional system, you’re
going to be spend XX amount in the next
20 years.” It will usually be well over $100k

10. Goals
 Don’t try to learn everything or
become an expert
 Get a site visit.
 Get to a place where you are confident
you can make money before investing
energy
 Once you have a site visit --> Get in
touch with partners

11. 2. Partners
 Distributor - Supplies equipment, will help with
design
 Driller - Drillers License, experience with
closed loop systems
 HVAC Contractor - Duct and Refrigeratant
license
 Electrician

12. 3. Create referral business
 Most profitable companies get more
then 80% of business from referral
 Referrals from past customers and
contractor partners
 Two Proven Tactics to Create
Referrals
 Installation Video
 Case Study

13. Discuss What Customers
Care About
 Installation Video - Give 5 To Your First Client
and To Contractor Partners
 Pictures of installation process and final
job
 Interview with homeowner
 Case Study in 2 to 3 Pages
 Economics of Job
 Customer Motivations
 Photos

14. Review
 1 - Test your Market - Don’t invest too
much money, survey old customers,
get a site visit
 2 - Establish Relationships with
Partners
 3 - Create Referral Business - Create
material that customers care about to
assist with word of mouth.

15. Martin Orio, AI

16. To know GEO
is to LOVE GEO!
What Does the US EPA have to Say
About Geothermal Heat Pumps?
 Lowest Cost Heating & Cooling
 Best for the Air Environment
 Best for Electric Utilities
EPA Report 430-R-93-004 - Space Conditioning the Next Frontier

17. Efficiency measurement for…
(Coefficient of Performance)
Air-Source
Top Pellet or Geothermal
Heat Pump
quality
Wood Heat Pump
Oil or Electric
Stove
Gas resistance
Furnace heaters

18. System efficiency measurement for
Top efficiency
Today’s geothermal
“Air-to-Air” heat
pump has a Annual EER up to
SEER of up to 17 31.7
Annual EER up
to about 13

19. Today’s Geothermal Heat Pump
Not what the “ads” claim
Laboratory conditions can
be achieved in the typical
application!

20. Water-to-Air
Geothermal Heat Pump
Heat Pump
Heater or Chilled
AIR TO & FROM
Earth Coupling
House
Heat pack use
DESTROYS
annual
efficiencies!!!
“Real time” delivery – As energy
is extracted it is immediately
delivered to the zone
Average inside cost: $4,200 to $5,500/ton

22. Water-to-Water
Electric tank
Geothermal Heat Pump Heaters as
“second
Great for Retrofits & Vacation Homes stage” are
Accumulator Tank also EVIL!!!
Earth Coupling Heat Pump
Heated or Chilled
Water TO & FROM
House
Radiant Floor, Base Board, Fan Coils
“Zone blind” delivery system –
Maximum flexibility
Average inside costs: $6,000 to $8,500/ton

24. The partial resistance heat
dilemma!
-ARI 210-
FULL LOAD
COOLING
HOURS
In cooling it’s a
“no brainer” as both
air-to-air and geo use
electricity. (Compare a 16
SEER to a 31 EER)

25. The partial resistance heat
dilemma!
-ARI 210-
FULL LOAD
HEATING
HOURS for
New England

26. The partial resistance heat problem in
New England…
GEO EVEN
Pennywise and BEATS
NATURAL
Pound Foolish? GAS when
you do it
right!
An 80% capacity geo system
that uses electric resistance
heat to make up the difference
(20% of the winter) DOUBLES
annual heating cost!!!!
No better than an
air-to-air ductless split!

27. The partial resistance heat problem in
New England…
…AND
Resistance
Creates an electric power “peak” during
Heat is
winter design days!
Futile!
Translation – Running a heat pack
(resistance electric) costs 4X’s the electrical
energy to deliver the same amount of heat!!!
DOUBLES LENGTH OF SIMPLE
PAYBACK !

28. Geothermal Heat Pumps
Make a Better Environment!
 Dirty bird! - One Gallon of Fuel Oil=
emission of 21 pounds of Carbon
Dioxide to the Environment!
 “The CLEANER blue flame” - One
Gallon of propane or CCF of Natural
Gas = Emission of about 10 pounds
of Carbon Dioxide to the
Environment
But wait, there’s more!!!
Typical geo
system reduces ADD 11.6 # of CO2 per
overall carbon gallon/CCF for
TRANSPORTATION of fossil
by over 50%
fuels to the home or business!

29. Safety Other Benefits
Somerset, MA
•Home/building Resale
•Aesthetics – Nothing on roof
or outside
•System Life – MTBF =48 yr.
Small Syst., 19 yr. Large (PRC
Gloucester, MA Corp.)
•Up to 19 Direct Leed
Points
•50% Carbon Reduction
•High Efficiency Electric is
…1.3 million households in “Fuel Neutral”
Massachusetts served by natural •Bigger Project = Bigger
gas and there have been 12
explosions in the past five years… Profits
Dept. of Public Utilities

30. The Daddy of all
federal tax credits!
Water Energy Distributors, Inc. - copyright 2012

31. Recognized types
of Earth Coupling
Closed Standing Open to
Loop Column Recycle
Conductive Conductive & Advective
Advective
Water Energy Distributors, Inc. - copyright 2012

32. THERMAL EFFICIENCY
Properly designed Earth coupling
CLOSED LOOPS – Good thermal efficiency
32 F Winter 77 F Summer
COP’s up to 4.0 & EER’s up to 27
STANDING COLUMN – Better thermal efficiency
45 F Winter 65 F Summer
COP’s up to 5.0 and EER’s up to 30
OPEN to RECYCLE – Best thermal efficiency
50 F Winter 59 F Summer
COP’s up to 5.1 and EER’s up to 31.5
per ASHRAE/ARI/ISO design standards
Category - 13256

33. Outside Earth Coupling
Costs & Needs
 OPEN to RECYCLE -A lot of water and a
$ 1,000 - $ 1,700 per ton good place to return it
 STANDING COLUMN -Bedrock, clean
$ 1,800 - $ 2,500 per ton water and high static
 CLOSED LOOPS -More heat pump
$ 3,200 - $ 4,400 per ton tonnage and ample
site space
Water Energy Distributors, Inc. - copyright 2012

35. What are we going to talk about ?
 Who is Skillings & Sons, Inc.
 The Mechanical Contractor and Well
Contractor Relationship. Partnering up
 Ground Loop Construction and Logistics
 Regulations and Registration

36. Roger Skillings, CWD/PI, AI

37. HISTORY OF SKILLINGS
 Leroy Skillings founder of Skillings & Sons Inc
started the company in 1971.
 In 1982 started drilling Geothermal wells in the
Northeastern Massachusetts area.
 Primarily a well drilling company until 1986.
 Roger and Norman purchased the company in 1989.
 Today we currently employ over 50 employees and
are a third generation company.

38. The “Mechanical Contractor” and
“Well Contractor” Relationship

39. What's Needed For
A Successful Project
 Good Communication
Equipment Load vs. Building Load
 Good Engineering
Responsibility of Design
 Good Timing
Coordinating On-Site Construction

40. Important Factors of Good
Communication
 The “mechanical contractor” needs to supply the
building load AND equipment load to the “well
contractor”
 Ground loops are always designed to the building load
 Piping is designed to equipment load
 Sizing The Heat Pump
 Closed loop 20% over load
 Standing Column to load

42.  How deep does the drilling go…?
 Closed loop 140’ to 180’ per/ton
 Shorter is better but can be more costly
 (CASING)
 Standing Column 70’ to 125’ per/ton
 The “Well Contractor” can provide a total bore hole
depth… Responsibility is on the “Designer” of the
system.
 What's the right pipe size…?
 The horizontals are to create low head on pump
 Verticals to meet Reynolds
factor

43. Ground Loop Construction and
Logistics

44. Closed Loop System Open Loop System

45. Closed Loop
Stages of Installation
 Drilling bore holes
 Installing vertical loops
 Grouting Most driller meet .88 BTUH/ft
 Installing Horizontal Lines. Home run or
reverse return
 Pressure testing system
 * Flushing and Purging * Needs to be 2
ft/sec MINIMUM

46. Open Loop
Stages of Installation
 Drilling the well
 Installing a temporary pump and
performing a draw down test (UIC water
quality test)
 Installing the appropriately sized pumping
system
 Installing electrical, supply and return lines
 Completing inside components (how is left
for the HVAC contractor?)

47. Regulations and Registration

48. Regulations – Closed Loop
 25ft from potential sources of
contamination
 10ft from property boundaries
 Closed loop – 50ft from drinking water
wells
 * Local Board of Health *

49. Regulations – Open Loop
Casing Minimum 15ft into bedrock
Casing Grouted
* Local Board of Health *

50. UIC Registration
Closed Loop
Skillings & Sons, Inc. will file
the UIC registration
No follow up required.

51. UIC Registration
Open Loop
 Skillings & Sons, Inc is not a geothermal
system designer.
 Final system design and proper operation
are the responsibility of others.
 Skillings & Sons Inc will help file the
registration.
 The “Owner/Operator” is responsible for all
necessary documentation, actions, etc.
after the UIC has been filed.

52. Our Services
 Water Well Drilling
 Geothermal Drilling
 Well Pumps
 Water Treatment
 Water Testing
 Hydrofracking
Amherst, NH
800-441-6281

53. Mike Brogan
GEOTHERMAL
Case Study: Dover, MA
10,000 square foot
residence

54. System Elements
Geo is Modular! Package
W-to-A
Split W-to-A
Water-to-Water

55. Install Factors
•Nothing outside to cover-up or landscape
•No boiler or furnace
•No flue venting/related construction
•No hydronic or gas piping
•No Oil/Propane tank
•Easier to install than conventional
•Single system for heating and cooling

56. Property Detail
•10,000 Square feet of living space
•PLUS 4 car heated garage
•PLUS 4,000 sq. ft. – Heated Basement
•2” X 6” construction
•Open cell spray foam walls and roof
•Not EnergyStar

57. Annual System Operating Costs

58. Remote Data Logger
60% savings
in heating

59. Q&A
Thanks!