More Straight Talk and Training Needed To Expand Geothermal
The fast rise of green construction technology is encouraging, particularly during this time of economic uncertainty. Green projects—mostly in the form of energy-efficiency building retrofits—lately have been working their way into the market as funds for new projects have evaporated in the credit crisis. However, many of these systems are not performing as touted, especially cleverly hyped geothermal heating systems that are plagued with inflated savings claims and deficient designs. These deficiencies have been slowing acceptance of a basically sound and environmentally sensitive approach to design and construction.
Geothermal heat pumps are one example of the problem. Their performance often is only superficially studied by equipment insiders whose main interest is selling more systems. As a result, the construction industry lacks a trusted set of independently audited best practices for design, installation and maintenance. This issue is becoming increasingly important as engineers scale up geothermal systems for larger buildings.