Lexington, KY - Geothermal systems that exchange heat with the underground to heat and cool buildings have a growing presence across the country. In Kentucky, more than 290 public schools have geothermal systems, placing Kentucky third among states leading the way with geothermal. Gov. Steve Beshear's signature to Rocky Adkins' House Bill 2, which mandates greater energy efficiency in building projects receiving 50 percent or greater funding from the state,
as well as first lady Jane Beshear's leadership in energy-efficiency initiatives, has also raised the profile of geothermal. It can help meet rising energy costs while making a lighter carbon footprint.
Geothermal is now gaining ground with the residential and commercial sectors, as well as with LFUCG.
"We're big proponents of geothermal," said Diana Emerich, general sales manager and principal broker of Jimmy Nash Homes, one of Lexington's biggest housing developers. "We put it in a lot of houses. There are a whole lot of benefits with it, and we get very good reviews from homeowners who have it."
At the Patchen Wilkes development on Winchester Road, Jimmy Nash is offering free geothermal heating and cooling, partnered with Rinnai tankless water heaters, for new home owners who choose to build there.
The price of copper is another dynamic spurring interest in geothermal.
"Copper theft is commiserate with the price of copper on the market," said Sherrelle Roberts spokeswoman for the Lexington Division of Police. In addition to stripping copper electrical wiring from vacant homes, thieves are destroying HVAC systems to harvest copper from the outside units. The higher the price of copper on the market, the more copper thefts, said Roberts. Churches, businesses and commercial properties have been targets for copper thieves. When the copper price is high, Roberts said there may be 40 to 50 systems a month that get stripped of copper. The thieves then try to sell the copper at recycling centers.
One recurrent target was the HVAC system at the Whitney Young Community Center in Lexington. That system was stripped of copper three times in the past five years, despite the units being inside locked chain-linked fencing. City planners have decided to install a geothermal system at the center.
"Geothermal is a very efficient heating and cooling system, and it is in my portfolio of options whenever I'm reviewing a retrofit or a new facility," said James Bush, energy manager for the city of Lexington.
The upfront cost of geothermal installation is more than a conventional HVAC system, but over time the city will realize savings. Plus there will be no outside unit with copper to steal. Bush also found that by switching the center to geothermal, the resulting reduction in electricity consumption would benefit the city with a better rate from the electric utility, which he said will bring significant savings.
The geothermal installation at the Whitney Young Center will be done by Arronco, the Covington-based company with offices in Lexington. Arronco is the largest supplier of geothermal systems in Kentucky with about 400 installations statewide last year.
"We'll put in about 100 geothermal installations just in the Lexington market this year," said Jamie Clark, an accredited building analyst and geothermal system designer with Arronco. He expects total Kentucky geothermal installations by Arronco to reach about 630 this year. That includes 128 installations Arronco is contracted to do for buildings at the Asbury Seminary in Wilmore, said Clark.
Advocates of geothermal will point out that it can be as much as 70 percent more efficient than conventional heating and cooling systems.
Arronco has been doing geothermal installations since 1984, and Clark said that, in the past two years, installations for commercial properties has jumped from 5 percent of their business to 30 percent. Geothermal units are rated to last about twice as long as a conventional heating and cooling system.
The upfront expense of geothermal is a hurdle. It's a heat pump system drawing heat from the earth, rather than the air, so drilling into the ground and laying of piping that circulates refrigerant is required, and that drives up the installation cost. In the summer months, heat is transferred from the building to the ground.
The Department of Energy states that for a new home, when a geothermal unit is included in the mortgage, it will create a positive cash flow from the beginning with energy savings exceeding the yearly payoff on the system figured in the mortgage. With a retrofit, the DOE estimates that the higher efficiency resulting in lower utility bills will allow the investment to be recouped in two to 10 years.
Currently the federal government is giving a 30 percent tax credit for residential properties. It's not a deduction, but a dollar-for-dollar credit. For installations at commercial properties, there's an accelerated depreciation benefit.
Available through the Kentucky Home Performance Program is a rebate for qualifying homes of up to $2,000 to help homeowners cover the expense of energy-efficiency upgrades, including geothermal systems. The rebate program will be available through March of 2012. Low-interest loans and other programs are also available to homeowners wanting to improve energy efficiency. For more information go to kyhomeperformance.org.
Some electric utilities also are offering incentives that may apply to geothermal.
"This little period right here is a perfect storm to go geothermal," said Clark. But he added a caution: The government incentives and the growing demand for geothermal have caused some companies without much experience with installations to jump into the geothermal business. Clark said that Arronco has been correcting faulty installations done by other companies, and he suggests due diligence in choosing an installer.