The short month of February flew by quicker than normal this year, but IGSHPA had a very productive month. We increased our staff by 33% with the addition of Angela Nys as Administrative Support Specialist (see article below). Angela joins Sally Stephens, Member Services, Marketing, and Events Coordinator and Jeff Hammond in our small but energized staff. We continue to work on increasing the value of IGSHPA membership and appreciate any feedback from members.
This past month also gave us a jumpstart on the annual conference in December (see article below) and the next research conference, set for Spring 2024 (more to come soon!). You'll notice on the home page at igshpa.org a green "Click Here!" button as part of the Las Vegas graphic that will take you to the "all things conference" page. We will continue to add more details as they become available, including a media kit so that you can help us promote the conference with your customers and/or suppliers. Watch for a "call for speakers" e-mail coming soon to your Inbox. The registration form is "live", and exhibitors may reserve a booth in the Geothermal Pavilion at any time. Last year we ran out of booth space. So, book soon!
The training subcommittees made a lot of progress in February with several meetings and good progress on defining the content of new modules. Thanks to all of the passionate volunteers we have and to Sean Hogan, training committee chair, as well as Jim Cusack, who is "on loan" to IGSHPA for up to 20 hours per week from Enertech Global.
February saw great progress on the new IGSHPA website. We expect to have a whole new look this Spring. Hopefully, it will be as impressive as NY-GEO's new look. Stay tuned for updates on the new igshpa.org.
Finally, we are still looking for presenters at IGSHPA Town Hall and Dig Deeper webinars. Complete an abstract on the events page if you're interested. Also, we still have several opportunities to sponsor these events. It's a great way to promote your company, especially since these webinars are recorded. Your logo will be at the start of the video for all to view in the future.
Have a wonderful Spring!
Jeff Hammond
Executive Director
International Ground Source Heat Pump Association
jeff@igshpa.org
Save the Date!
IGSHPA will be partnering again with NGWA for our annual conference, December 5 to 7, 2023, at the Convention Center in Las Vegas. Registration for individuals and exhibitors is now open on the IGSHPA website here. Sponsorship details coming soon!
IGSHPA Welcomes Angela Nys to IGSHPA!
IGSHPA welcomes Angela Nys as Administrative Support Specialist, increasing IGSHPA's ability to better serve members and grow as an organization.
Angela has been married almost 18 years and is Mom to 4 Lego loving kids and a Golden Doodle puppy named Skywalker. She has been working part time for the last 3 years at a local church doing all of their accounting and bookkeeping and has a lot of other skills that will provide IGSHPA with additional resources. Angela commented last week, "I am so excited to join IGSHPA and be a part of their great team!"
Angela will be concentrating on accounting, website maintenance, the info@igshpa.org e-mail account and assisting with administrative tasks. Please join us in welcoming Angela to IGSHPA at this exciting time in our industry!
IGSHPA Provides Training for Gas Utility
Richard Donnelly, Director of Energy Innovation and Morgan Hood, New Product Development Manager at VGS (formerly Vermont Gas) in Burlington, Vermont invited IGSHPA’s Executive Director, Jeff Hammond to provide an introduction to geothermal heating and cooling on February 21 and 22. There was a diverse group of employees including management, product development, engineering, street crew, service technicians, and human resources. The goal was to help everyone understand (including IGSHPA) how gas utilities can impact alternative and renewable heating and cooling systems.
“We have set bold goals with our climate plan, and EVERYONE within the organization plays an important role as we work to achieve them,” commented Morgan Hood, who coordinated the training for VGS. After the training, Jeff Hammond noted, “There is a great opportunity to leverage the skillsets of gas utilities, since they are already experts at working with polyethylene pipe and understand the importance of quality, leak-free installations”.
The training included an introduction to geothermal systems, as well as discussions on ground heat exchangers/configurations, underground piping material and joining methods, flow rates and pumping, heat transfer fluids (antifreeze), maintenance/leaks/repairs, and important industry standards like the bi-national ANSI/CSA/IGSHPA C448 Design and Installation Standard and ASTM/CSA standards for pipe and fusion. With the diverse audience, there were many good discussions on workforce development and how to utilize existing skills.
As the geothermal heat pump industry grows, we should all be looking for ways to partner with existing stakeholders and seek out new cooperation in similar industries like gas utilities. As we move towards beneficial electrification, we must remember that we need to utilize our resources wisely. HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) pipe is an excellent example. The fossil fuel resources needed to extrude HDPE provide a long-lasting energy resource, the GHEX (Ground Heat Exchanger), which is connected to an electric appliance, the heat pump in Geothermal Heating and Cooling systems.
Town Hall for March
On March 8, 2023 at 10:30 Central , we will be hearing from Matt Tokarik of Subterra Renewables. Matt will be speaking to us about Accelerating the Path to Net Zero with Energy as a Service for Geothermal Exchange Systems.
The building sector is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, contributing up to 66% of energy-related carbon emissions in urban centers. As governments enact new policies on the path to Net Zero by 2030, the building industry is shifting to green technologies and renewable energy resources. To implement net zero solutions like geothermal exchange, cost factors need to be considered. This presentation examines the cost and benefits of installing a geothermal system with a focus on Energy as a Service (Utility Model).
Matthew Tokarik is a professional engineer who works with Subterra Renewables, a renewable energy developer who designs, builds, owns, and operates geothermal heating and cooling systems across North America, with the goal of significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions and ultimately reaching Net-Zero building operation. Previously he has worked with design firms to develop strategies for building energy and carbon emission reduction for new and existing buildings. Matthew is a Sessional Instructor at Ryerson University and sits on the Canada GBC’s Zero Carbon Building Standard Steering Committee.
Dig Deeper for March
Joins us March 24, 2023at 10:30 Central for our Dig Deeper Webinar with Al Wallace of Energy Environmental Corporation. Al will be speaking about Engineering Best Practices to Attain Net Zero Energy Building Performance using Heat Pumps; Advanced Heating and Cooling Technologies for Low Energy Commercial Buildings.
Albert Wallace is the principal of Energy Environmental Corporation (EEC), a service-disabled veteran-owned small business. Al’s expertise lies in developing high performance solutions for low and net zero energy buildings with a low carbon footprint. He has been awarded five U.S. patents for modular systems combining solar, geothermal, and radiant in-floor heating and cooling with reliable simple-to-operate controls for superior comfort, indoor air quality, and energy efficiency.
Town Hall and Dig Deeper Sponsorship Opportunities
We start off 2023 with a new opportunity for members to get the word out about their products and services. IGSHPA Town Hall and Dig Deeper webinars may now be sponsored. Your logo will be prominently displayed on the opening slides and your company will be recognized by the moderator. Since webinars are recorded, anyone who views the webinar later on will see your logo, creating an advertising opportunity with longevity. Check out the advertising flyer here. Hurry! Sponsorships are going fast! Thank you to our sponsors so far, U.S. Department of Energy's Geothermal Technology Office (GTO), ClimateMaster, and GeoExchange!
Upcoming Events
March 8, 2023: Minnesota Geothermal Heat Pump Assn. Annual Conference- Maple Grove, MN- Mark your calendars for the 2023 Minnesota Geothermal Heat Pump Association Annual Conference at the Maple Grove Community CenterRegister Here
March 14-15, 2023: 2023 Illinois Geothermal Conference- East Peoria, IL- We’re looking forward to seeing you at the 2023 IL Geothermal Conference in East Peoria at the Par-A-Dice Hotel and Casino. Registration is $225 for members and $300 for Non-Members. Register Here
April 2, 2023 ACCA Conference & Expo- New Orleans, LA- Attend ACCA 2023 and be a part of the most diverse group of speakers, and meet exhibitors dedicated to their industry. Meet the ACCA community from all over the US at this conference, while staying in New Orleans. Learn about the most up-to-date ideas, tactics, and best practices as well as opportunities to learn and engage with other companies in the HVACR industry. Attendees will be able to interact with peers from all over the United States and learn about the most recent and efficient tactics and best practices in the industry. There will be many chances to meet with industry professionals throughout the week experience. Register Here
April 4-6, 2023: AI Training in-person with WaterFurnace- Pittsburgh, PA- Get your Accredited Installer certification with one of WaterFurnace’s Certified IGSHPA Trainers! This in person AI course will be held at the Doubletree By Hilton Pittsburgh- Green Tree. Cost Varies depending on materials. Register Here
April 26-27, 2023: NY-GEO Annual Conference- Albany, NY- The 2023 NY-GEO Conference brings together the best of the best in the Geothermal Heat Pump Industry. The conference will be hosted at the Albany Marriott will include dynamic Main Stage presenters, educations breakout sessions, Exhibitors with equipment and Information your business needs and plenty of time to mix, mingle and connect. For more info & to registergo here.
Industry News Articles
BCD Announcement: BCD Calculator Version 3.1 is Published.
Plastic Pipe Institute (PPI) is pleased to announce the publication of the revised BCD Plastic Pipe Design Calculator, Version 3.1. The revised version of the Calculator went live on Jan. 31st at plasticpipecalculator.com
Recent revisions to the BCD Calculator include:
Pressure Drop calculations were revised to use an iterative method for solving the implicit Colebrook-White equation for calculating the friction factor of pipes. This improves accuracy of the calculations.
The Calculation Details graphic for Pressure Drop / Head Loss was updated to show this revision
The upper limit for Flow Rate in the Pressure Drop / Head Loss function was extended to 500,000 USGPM
An instruction video has been added to the Static Water Column Pressure function that was launched in December 2022
The revised Calculator is a result of ProjectBC-2022-13 “Review Pressure Loss Calculation Methods”. The project waschaired by Rich Houle (RWC) with TG members Bill Melvin, David Nickelson, Mike Boehk, Jim Paschal, Jon Bittenbender, Mike Casavant, Jeremy Ferriter, and Mike Whitehouse. Thanks to all TG members for your ideas and input throughout this project.
The project has been updated in SmartSheet as COMPLETE and is the first BCD R&D project completed in 2023.
New IGSHPA Calculator for Deep Boreholes
A new calculator has just been added to the member portal, the Hydrostatic Buckling / Pipe Collapse Calculator. The new calculator provides the maximum allowable bore depth based upon the pipe dimensional ratio, ovality, temperature, grout density and other factors that impact the potential for the pipe wall to collapse in deep boreholes. Thanks to PPI (Plastic Pipe Institute) for providing the calculations and guidance for developing this calculator.
To access the new calculator, log into your IGSHPA member account at the Member Portal and select "Member Portal Resources" from the menu on the left. The link to IGSHPA Calculators is on this page.
Effective January 1, 2023, only IGSHPA members will be listed in the IGSHPA directory. Certified individuals will only be displayed if they are an IGSHPA individual member or if their company is a business or corporate member.
In the past year, as IGSHPA has been implementing its new member CRM (Customer Relations Management) software, which has significantly better methods of managing member data and IGSHPA certifications. In the process, it was necessary to display all members and certified individuals (even certified individuals without an IGSHPA membership) in order to transition to the new directory. Now that the data has been “cleaned up” (i.e., we are able to associate business/corporate/individual memberships with certified individuals), we are moving back to the policy that has been in place over the years, where only IGSHPA members will show up in the directory. This will not affect individual memberships or business/corporate members, as they will continue to be displayed as long as their membership is current.
What does this mean for certified individuals? If you have an Accredited Installer (AI), Certified GeoExchange Designer (CGD), Certified Residential Designer (CRD), or Certified Geothermal Inspector (CGI) certification and have an individual membership or your company has a business/corporate membership, nothing will change. You will continue to be displayed in the Certified Individual Directory. The only caveat is that we may not know that you work for a company that is an IGSHPA member if your information has not been updated in the IGSHPA database. If you don’t show up in the directory after January 1 and you work for a company that is an IGSHPA member, please contact us at info@igshpa.org to have your information updated.
Sometimes certification and membership can be confusing. Renewing your certification does not include an IGSHPA membership; it only maintains your certification. Individuals can be certified; individuals can be an IGSHPA member; or individuals can be certified and a member. IGSHPA has special pricing of $50 per year for certified individuals to purchase an individual membership. Being an IGSHPA member provides many benefits, including being listed in the directory and being able to vote in board member elections. For more clarification, IGSHPA has created a document that explains the difference between certification and membership. Click here for more details.
Virtual Town Halls - Submit Your Abstract for 2023!
IGSHPA Town Halls and Dig Deeper webinars have been a wealth of information in 2022. We are now accepting abstracts for 2023 webinars. Submit your abstract soon, as spaces fill up quickly. Click here for the abstract form. Town Halls are more of a general overview and update for members on the latest information, technology, and industry news; Dig Deeper webinars are a deeper dive into technical topics. Our goal is for one Town Hall and Dig Deeper per month. Town Halls are on the second Wednesday of every month at 10:30am Central Time (U.S./Canada); Dig Deeper webinars are on the fourth Friday of every month 10:30am Central Time (U.S./Canada).
Please submit recommendations for topics that you would like to learn more about or an abstract for a topic that you would like to present. For questions, contactinfo@igspha.org.
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