Benefits l Tax Incentives l  Loops  l  FAQ's  l 

Champion Well and Pump Services is an experienced loop contractor ready to help you in all your geothermal loop needs. We are a qualified drilling contractor making all of your loops eligible for CGC system certification and eligible for government grants. We work with HVAC contractors across South Florida to complete their loop requirements.

When choosing Champion Well and Pump Services to complete your loop you are choosing a contractor that you can trust to install your loop so that your customer can enjoy maximum savings and optimal efficiencies for their geothermal system.

Champion Well and Pump Services while focusing on the residential geothermal loop market also has the skill set and experience in large commercial projects. (click on image to see larger size)

Whether you are looking to build a new home or currently own an existing home; geothermal energy can save you money and uses clean renewable energy extracted from your backyard.

Working with an underground loop system utilizes this constant temperature to exchange energy between your home and the earth as needed for heating and cooling.

In winter, water circulating inside a sealed loop absorbs heat from the earth and carries it to the unit. Here it is compressed to a higher temperature and sent as warm air to your indoor system for distribution throughout your home.

In the summer, the system reverses and expels heat from your home to the cooler earth via the loop system. This heat exchange process is not only natural, but is a truly ingenious and highly efficient way to create a comfortable climate in your home. Geothermal systems tap the free, renewable supply of solar energy stored just a few feet below the Earth’s surface and use that energy to drive heating and cooling systems in both residential and commercial buildings. In addition to utility, state and now federal tax incentives that enhance the affordability of geothermal systems, this cost-effective, environmentally friendly technology offers a host of benefits that includes:

BENEFITS OF GOING GREEN

· Free, renewable supply of solar energy

· Efficiency ratings up to five times higher than those of ordinary heating and cooling systems

· Savings on utility bills up to 70 percent

· Reduced carbon footprint, since the system burns no fossil fuels

· More even distribution of heating and cooling for improved comfort

· Efficiency ratings up to five times higher than those of ordinary heating and cooling systems

· Savings on utility bills up to 70 percent

· Reduced carbon footprint, since the system burns no fossil fuels

· Free, renewable supply of solar energy

· Improved indoor air quality

· Quiet operation with no noisy outdoor units to disturb the environment or neighbors

· Safe operation that requires no open flame or fuel storage tanks

· Less maintenance

· Increased system longevity (an average life span of 24 years vs.15 for conventional air conditioners and 20 years for fossil fuel furnaces)

Efficiency Geothermal heat pumps are much more efficient than air source heat pumps because earth temperatures are much more uniform through the year than air temperatures. Not only are earth temperatures more constant, but also the range of temperatures in ground water is rather small in the United States, varying from upper 40s to upper 70s nationwide.

The Benefits Speak for Themselves Tens of thousands of homes are being built or retrofitted with geothermal heating and cooling systems every year, because of the advantages these systems offer: economical operation, noise reduction, and product quality. Initially reserved for the most expensive homes, now these systems have become affordable options for thousands of low and moderate income housing units because of the system's low life cycle costs compared to all other alternatives in almost every region of the country. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Systems save homeowners more than 30-70% in heating costs 20-50% in cooling compared to conventional systems.

TAX INCENTIVES 

New Tax Incentives for Geothermal Energy Systems

· Expanded Tax Incentive Encourages Installation of Geothermal Heating and Cooling Systems Legislation allows FULL 30% TAX INCENTIVE!

Homeowners who install geothermal heating and cooling systems are now eligible for increased tax incentives under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Previous legislation offered a one-time tax credit of 30 percent of the total investment for residential ground loop or ground water geothermal heat pump installations, with a maximum credit of $2,000 for a single residence. The new bill, signed into law on Feb. 17, 2009, removes the $2,000 cap and offers homeowners the entire 30 percent tax credit.

“We anticipate the removal of the $2,000 cap will have a positive impact on our geothermal system sales moving forward,” said Bill Seguin, Seguin Heating & Air, New Milford,CT “The improved tax incentive will make geothermal systems more affordable for homeowners and allow them to make decisions about their home comfort systems based more on energy and comfort concerns and less on installation price.”

The new tax credits are retroactive to Jan. 1, 2009, and expire on Dec. 31, 2016. Residential systems installed Jan. 1, 2008, through Dec. 31, 2008, are also eligible for the 30 percent tax credit, but they are subject to the provisions of previous legislation, including the $2,000 cap.

To qualify for the tax credit, residential systems must meet Energy Star requirements. Owners can file for the credit by completing the Renewable Energy Credits subsection on their 2009 tax return forms. No proof of purchase is required. However, in case of an audit, owners are encouraged to keep a detailed invoice of their purchase on file. Contractors who install the product should list the purchase as a “Geothermal Heat Pump” on the invoice and note that the unit “Meets or exceeds requirements of the Energy Star program currently in effect.”

“This new, larger tax incentive supports geothermal technology as a homegrown solution to both the energy and the financial crisis by encouraging the growth of renewable energy and creating opportunities for the heating and air-conditioning contractors, electricians, plumbers, excavators and drilling machine operators that support the geothermal industry,”

A geothermal heat pump can also provide hot water at greatly reduced costs using a device called a "desuperheater" that transfers excess heat from the heat pump's compressor to a hot water tank. In the summer, hot water is provided free; in the winter, water heating costs are cut approximately in half. Depending on the location, geothermal heat pumps can reduce energy consumption and, correspondingly, emissions by more than 20 percent............

Geothermal Heating and Cooling Makes Sense Geothermal systems are efficient, environmentally-sensitive, comfortable, and economical. Operating savings often provide paybacks of considerably less than five years -- sometimes less than two years. The key is that geothermal heat pumps use electricity to move heat, not to generate it by the burning fuel or using electric resistance elements. Indeed, the U.S. EPA has found that no other technology with more favorable operating efficiencies and economics than emerging geothermal heat and cooling systems.

An Important Renewable Energy Technology The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that well-designed and properly installed high efficiency geothermal heat pump systems produce less environmental harm than any other alternative space conditioning technology currently available. On a full fuel cycle basis, emerging geothermal systems are the most efficient technology available, with the lowest CO2 emissions for minimum greenhouse warming impact. Overall, the EPA found emerging geothermal heating and cooling systems to have the lowest environmental cost of all technologies analyzed -- including air-source heat pumps and natural gas furnaces.

Closed loop geothermal heating systems are the fastest growing green alternative to home heating available in the market today.

Geothermal systems use the Earth's energy storage capability to heat and cool buildings and to provide hot water. The earth is a huge energy storage device that absorbs 47% of the sun's energy - more than 500 times more energy than mankind needs every year - in the form of clean, renewable energy. Geothermal systems take this heat during the heating season at an efficiency approaching or exceeding 400%, and return it during the cooling season.

Geothermal heat pumps are environmental. They generate no on site emissions and have the lowest emission among all heating a cooling technologies.1

Geothermal heat pump systems, also known as "geothermal," are the most energy-efficient, environmentally clean, and cost-effective space conditioning systems available, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.1

Geothermal heat pumps strengthen U.S. energy security. Every 100,000 homes with geothermal heat pump systems reduce foreign oil consumption by 2.15 million barrels annually and reduce electricity consumption by 799 million kilowatt hours annually.

Geothermal heat pumps are efficient. The use of geothermal lowers electricity demand by approximately 1kW per ton of capacity.

EPA found that geothermal heating and cooling systems can reduce energy consumption and emissions - by more than 40% compared to air source heat pumps and by over 70% compared to electric resistance heating with standard air-conditioning equipment.

Surveys by utilities indicate a higher level of consumer satisfaction for geothermal systems than for conventional systems. Polls consistently show that more than 95% of all geothermal customers would recommend geothermal to a family member or friend.

Geothermal heat pumps save money. Schools now using geothermal heat pump systems save more than $25 million in energy costs - meaning more money for books, equipment and teachers. Homeowners can save 25 to 50 percent on home electric bills compared to conventional heating and cooling systems. Electric bills for a 2,000 sq. ft. home can be reduced to as low as $1 a day, using a geothermal system.

Surveys by utilities indicate a higher level of consumer satisfaction for geothermal systems than for conventional systems. Polls consistently show that more than 95% of all geothermal customers would recommend geothermal to a family member or friend.

Today there are now more than 1,000,000 geothermal installations in the United Stated. The current use of geothermal heat pump technology had resulted in the following emissions reductions:

* Elimination of more than 5.8 million metric tons of CO2 annually * Elimination of more than 1.6 million metric tons of carbon equivalent annually. These 1,000,000 installations have also resulted in the following energy consumption reductions. * Annual savings of nearly 8 million kWh * Annual savings of nearly 40 trillion Btus of fossil fuels. * Reduced electricity demand by more than 2.6 million kW. The monumental impact of the current use of geothermal is equivalent to: * Taking close to 1,295,000 cars off the road * Planted more than 385 million trees. * Reducing U.S. reliance on imported fuels by 21.5 million barrels of crude oil per year.

Geothermal systems represent a savings to homeowners of 30 to 70% in the heating mode and 20 to 50% in the cooling mode, compared to conventional systems.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has identified geothermal heat pumps as a technology that significantly reduces greenhouse gas and other air emissions associated with heating, cooling and water heating residential buildings, while saving consumers money, compared to conventional technologies.1 For every 100,000 units of typically sized residential geothermal heat pumps installed, more than 37.5 trillion Btu's of energy used for space conditioning and water heating can be saved, corresponding to an emissions reduction of about 2.18 million metric tons of carbon equivalents, and cost savings to consumers of about $750 million over the 20 year life of the equipment.

EPA found that, even on a source field basis - accounting for ALL losses in the field circle including electricity generation at power plants - geothermal systems are much more efficient than competing fuel technologies. They are an average of 48% more efficient than the best gas furnaces on a source fuel basis, and over 75% more efficient than oil furnaces. In fact, today best geothermal systems outperform the best gas technology, gas heat pumps, by an average of 36% in heating mode and 43% in cooling mode!

The U.S. general Accounting Office estimates that if geothermal systems were installed nationwide, they could save several billion dollars annually in energy costs and substantially reduce pollution.2

1 - Environmental Protection Agency, Space Conditioning: The Next Frontier, Office of Air and Radiation, 430-R-93-004 (4/93)

2 - General Accounting Office, Geothermal Energy, Outlook Limited for Some Uses but Promising for Geothermal, (6/94)

Geothermal systems can provide all or part of a household's hot water. An economical way to obtain a portion of domestic hot water is through the addition of a desuperheater to the geothermal unit. A desuperheater is a small, auxiliary heat exchanger that uses superheated gases from the heat pump's compressor to heat water. This hot water then circulates through a pipe to the home's water heater tank. In summer, when the geothermal system is in the cooling mode, the desuperheater merely uses excess heat that would otherwise be expelled to the loop. When the geothermal unit is running frequently, homeowners can obtain all of their hot water in this manner virtually for free. A conventional hot water heater meets household hot water needs in winter if the desuperheater isn't producing enough, and in the spring and fall when the geothermal system may not be operating at all.

FAQ's

Q. What is a geothermal heating and cooling system?

A. A few feet beneath the surface, the earth’s temperature remains constant. In Ohio, the average ground temperature is 54 degrees year round. A geothermal system takes advantage of this constant temperature to provide very efficient heating and cooling.

In winter, a water solution circulating through pipes buried in the ground absorbs heat from the earth and carries it into the home. The geothermal system inside the home uses a heat pump to concentrate the earth’s thermal energy and then to transfer it to air circulated through standard ductwork to fill the interior space with warmth.

In the summer, the process is reversed: heat is extracted from the air in the house and transferred through the heat pump to the ground loop piping. The water solution in the ground loop then carries the excess heat back to the earth. The only external energy needed for the geothermal system is the small amount of electricity needed to operate the ground loop pump, fan, and compressor.

Q. Is geothermal new?

A. Not really. The basic technology has been around for more than 50 years, and many homeowners and businesses have been enjoying the benefits of geothermal for over 20 years.

In recent years, many improvements have been made in the materials used, the installation methods, and the efficiencies of the compressors, pumps and other equipment.

Q. What are the major benefits to the homeowner?

A. Homeowners enjoy lower utility bills (40% to 80% lower than with conventional systems), lower maintenance, and higher levels of comfort, year-round. Even more than that, though, they have the peace of mind of knowing they’re being environmentally responsible.

Since a geothermal system burns no fossil fuel to produce heat, it generates far fewer greenhouse gas emissions than a conventional furnace, and completely eliminates a potential source of poisonous carbon monoxide within the home. Even factoring in its share of emissions from the power plant that produces electricity to operate the geothermal system, total emissions are far lower than for conventional systems.

Q. What are some specific environmental advantages?

A. According to data supplied by the U.S. Department of Energy and USEPA, a typical 3-ton residential geothermal system produces an average of about one pound less CO2 per hour of use than a conventional system. To put that in perspective, if just 100,000 homes were converted to geothermal, the country could reduce its CO2 emissions by 880,000,000 lb.

That would be the equivalent of converting about 58,700 cars to zero-emission vehicles, or planting more than 120,000 acres of trees.

And the waste heat removed from the home’s interior during the cooling season can be used to provide virtually free hot water resulting in a total savings in hot water costs of about 30% to 50% annually, lowering emission even further.

Q. Is geothermal energy used primarily in homes?

A. Not really. While many homes have been fitted with geothermal systems, commercial enterprises, including factories, retail stores, office buildings and schools also use geothermal to save energy and protect the environment. In fact, there are more than half a million installations in the United States today.

According to the U.S. EPA, schools are a particularly attractive place for the use of this technology. Across the country, schools using geothermal right now are saving an estimated $25,000,000 in energy costs which can be used instead for better educational equipment and more teachers. These schools also save a half-billion pounds of CO2 emission per year.

Should all of the nation’s schools convert to geothermal, the EPA has estimated that we could reduce oil imports by 61 millions barrels annually, and provide the same environmental benefits of planting 8 million acres of trees or converting nearly 4 million cars to zero-emissions vehicles.

If the same comparison were made across all commercial and residential segments, the potential for environmental benefit would be staggering.

Q. Does geothermal cost more?

A. That depends on how you measure cost. While they do cost more to install in homes than conventional systems, because of the ground loop piping, geothermal systems typically have the lowest life-cycle cost of any heating and cooling system. Heating and cooling for typical 2,000 sq. ft. homes can run as low as $1.00 a day.

Altogether, geothermal systems are a sound investment. The amount they save the homeowner every month in energy costs is more than enough to offset their higher installation cost resulting in a positive monthly cash flow.

Remember, too, that geothermal means extra savings on repairs, maintenance, and hot water bills. And the energy efficiency of geothermal adds value to the home.

Q. How popular is geothermal?

A. There are more than one million installations in the United States today. Although this is a very small percentage of the total HVAC market, the number of people who are choosing to install geothermal is growing rapidly (about 20% every year) as more learn about the technology.

Q. What size system will I need?

A. The size of the system depends on the size and design of your home or building. Sizing questions are best answered by a local heating contractor who can take into context all the variables of your unique installation. You can locate a contractor near you through ‘Find a Contractor’ on our homepage.

Q. How much space do I need for a vertical system?

A. An average residential, vertical loop can be installed in an area as small as 10 ft. x 20 ft. However, the area must be accessible to a drilling rig and free of utilities.

Q. How much space do I need for a horizontal system?

A. A 140 ft. trench is needed per ton for your geothermal unit, with 15 ft. of space between each trench. For example, a 4 ton system would require a space 140 ft. x 45 ft. free of utilities.

Q. Is my pond large enough for a pond loop application?

A. A minimum 3/4 acre of surface area is required for a pond with an average depth of 8 feet.

Q. Can I use geothermal to heat my water?

A. The waste heat removed from the home’s interior during the cooling season can be used to provide virtually free hot water resulting in a total savings in hot water costs of about 30% to 50% annually.

LOOPS

Closed and Open Loops There are two basic types of loops: closed and open. Open loop systems are the simplest. Used successfully for decades, ground water is drawn from an aquifer through one well, passes through the heat pump's heat exchanger, and is discharged to the same aquifer through a second well at a distance from the first. Generally, two to three gallons per minute per ton of capacity are necessary for effective heat exchange. Since the temperature of ground water is nearly constant throughout the year, open loops are a popular option in areas where they are permitted.

Closed loop systems are becoming the most common. When properly installed, they are economical, efficient, and reliable. Water (or a water and antifreeze solution) is circulated through a continuous buried pipe.

Horizontal Loops Horizontal closed loop installations are generally most cost-effective for small installations, particularly for new construction where sufficient land area is available. These installations involve burying pipe in trenches dug with back-hoes or chain trenchers. Horizontal loops are usually the most economical. They also require the most amount of property area.

Vertical Loops Vertical closed loops are preferred in many situations. Vertical loops use the least amount of space and are thus the most practical, and sometimes the only choice for small lots. Drilling the vertical holes can increase the time to realize a return on your investment.

For example, most large commercial buildings and schools use vertical loops because the land area required for horizontal loops would be prohibitive. Vertical loops are also used where the soil is too shallow for trenching. Vertical loops also minimize the disturbance to existing landscaping.

Pond Loops Pond closed loops are a special kind of closed loop system. Where there is a pond or stream that is deep enough and with enough flow, closed loop coils can be placed on the pond bottom. Fluid is pumped just as for a conventional closed loop ground system where conditions are suitable, the economics are very attractive, and no aquatic system impacts have been shown. (click on image below to see a larger size)

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