Stories

Now that you own a geothermal/geoexchange energy system in your home or agricultural building we need to address maintenance. As with most mechanical systems and equipment, preventative maintenance not only avoids potential system shutdowns but can also save money on unneeded service calls. Here are a few tips you can use before calling your service contractor.

Typically thought of as an option for new custom home building only, advances and changes to technology and methods, adding the geothermal heat pump option to a major (or minor) home renovation is a good choice. Heating and cooling remains one of the top considerations for comfort and utility costs.

A detailed explanation of what geothermal energy is and how it works can be found here and in this short article we can see the cost benefits in a typical residential geothermal installation. Operational costs are undeniable, increased comfort levels proven, technology advancements ongoing with real value added to the home in which it is installed.

If your home is 20 years old or older you may be at the stage where consideration needs to be given to upgrade or even replace your current heating and cooling system. An experienced dealer can assess the viability of upgrading. Given the efficiency of geothermal heat pumps and the significant operational costs to maintain and/or replace an

Currently the MGEIP, Manitoba Geothermal Energy Incentive Program provides qualified homeowners up to $5000.00 incentives to offset the cost to install geothermal energy in new or existing homes. Additionally, eligible commercial geothermal installations and District/Community Geothermal Systems can qualify for substantial tax incentives for installations as well.

To date, over 1000 Manitobans have shared incentives of over 3 million dollars to help mitigate the cost of geothermal installation. Manitoba Hydro as well has programs in place to assist in retrofits and new installs in the form of affordable financing.

kc&b geoexchange has all the current details on incentive programs to offset the cost to install geothermal as well as providing assistance in the application process itself thus making it easier for homeowners to take advantage of programs available to them.

kc&b geoexchange is a member of Manitoba Geothermal Energy Alliance.   All MGEA members must adhere to the Code of Practice, meet standards and be a member in good standing

What is residential commissioning? A good commissioning process will first test individual HVAC (heating, ventilation air-conditioning) components for defects and performance, then test each system, and finally look at system interactions and the performance of the house as a whole under all anticipated operating conditions. A total HVAC systems design inspection including all home heating and cooling systems. 

The simple definition-commissioning is all about looking for things that aren’t right and fixing them. The aim is for the whole house to perform as intended. The truth is, most new homes are never commissioned in this way. Why is that? The need for HVAC systems design commissioning is not really all that intuitive. If all the in-house mechanical systems are new, hooked up and plugged in, it should work right? Not always so. In many new homes the duct work leaks, is sized incorrectly, maybe blocked by construction/shipping material, completely disconnected from the

It’s all around us. Heat stored up within the Earth acting like a solar battery which absorbs nearly half of the sun's energy. This results in a relatively constant ground temperature through all seasons. 

Enter the ground source heat pump. 

Geothermal systems access this renewable resource by simply moving this heat around instead of creating it. Using a system of ground loops which circulate an anti-freeze mixture that picks up the earth’s temperature, these loops then connect to a geothermal unit located within your house or structure.

This in-house unit, the ground source heat pump, is in turn connected to your homes forced air, (or radiant floor) system. This fluid from the loops, which has picked up the earth’s temperature, flows through the heat pump which in turn "harvests" the earth’s heat, using a compressor system for the extraction process.

In the summer season, this process is simply reversed allowing for free air conditioning when the ground source heat pump draws the heat from the inside of the house and transfers it back into the earth for later use.