According to a recent survey conducted by The ACHR NEWS in conjunction with myCLEARopinion, most homeowners have some sort of knowledge/familiarity with geothermal HVAC (41%). Of the homeowners surveyed, 30% said they have heard of geothermal heating/cooling, but have no knowledge/familiarity. Other data showed that 13% of homeowners are extremely knowledgeable/familiar with the systems.
When it comes to having geothermal in their own residence, the survey showed only 1% currently do. Regarding whether or not homeowners would be interested in installing geothermal heating/cooling, 32% answered yes, 36% said no, and 32% answered “not sure.”
Though geothermal has been around since the 1800s, it’s just recently begun to really gain momentum, providing ample opportunities for today’s geothermal contractors to educate their homeowners and sell to them. It also provides opportunities for those HVAC contractors who may be interested in entering this market themselves.
For geothermal to really catch on, it takes homeowner knowledge. This means contractors have to really understand the geothermal market and its systems so they can educate homeowners by addressing misconceptions and informing them of the benefits.
– Bonnie Morrison
controller
Morrison Geothermal
Misconceptions
Educating homeowners about geothermal, like most other important topics in the HVAC industry, should really be done face-to-face. A lot of times, that can come at the customer’s home or during community outreach. It can also be done on the contractor’s website or through social media.
Part of that education is addressing misconceptions or confusions homeowners might have about geothermal. For instance, a lot of homeowners don’t really understand the specifics of how geothermal works. And that’s really where most of the misconceptions come from.
“During the ‘how does geothermal work’ conversation, homeowners typically assume that water is circulated through the ground and comes into the house at 50°F, and is then ‘heated’ by the geothermal unit to a temperature higher than 50°F before circulating into a coil as a fan blows air across it,” said Maverick Wolf, retrofit design & sales, Massmann Geothermal & Mechanical, in Elk River, Minn.
While that understanding isn’t far from the technical truth nor really plaguing the geothermal industry, it’s not only interesting but critical for contractors to understand what homeowners know — or more accurately, think they know — about geothermal.
“It speaks to the lack of deeper knowledge on the topic, but an average homeowner doesn’t need to necessarily understand the interworkings of geothermal at that level to understand that it will save them money in the long run and reduce their overall carbon footprint.”
Money and energy efficiency speak to two other misconceptions homeowners have about geothermal.
“While geothermal does cost more on the front end, there are many benefits to consider,” said Bonnie Morrison, controller of Morrison Geothermal in Duncannon, Penn. “The loop system that is installed outdoors is a lifetime energy source. In most cases, the amount saved per month is greater than the extra amount per month on a mortgage. Currently, there are also various tax credits available as well.”
A lot of homeowners also don’t know that geothermal can both heat and cool their homes.
BEST OF BOTH WORLDS: In northern Indiana, a technician works on a geothermal heat pump – which most customers don’t understand can both heat and cool the home. (Photo courtesy of Indiana Geothermal)
“The internet is an enemy of most information, and it really is with geothermal — there’s a lot of misinformation out there on how it works,” said Dona Kyler, vice president of Indiana Geothermal in Indianapolis, Ind., and president of New York Geothermal Supply.
Many homeowners also pass on geothermal because they think their yard isn’t big enough.
“Geothermal loops can be installed vertically and drilling separation per hole can range from 10-20 feet, so technically you could install a four-ton loop field (tonnage referring to heating capacity, not weight) in a 10-by-10 feet area with one borehole in each corner,” said Wolf.
They might also think a geothermal install would mean a torn-up yard for a period of time. But with today’s technology and contractors installing the systems the correct way, this needn’t be a concern.
How to Educate
The contractors selling the equipment also have to be comfortable with geothermal themselves. That means they have to be trained, encouraged, and supported enough to start selling the systems in the first place.
“The contractor is looking for technical support and somebody that can help them, because they are often not experts in geothermal, so they need an expert behind them to help them sell the product,” said Kris Kyler, president of Indiana Geothermal, and vice president of New York Geothermal Supply. “And once you’ve gotten the contractor comfortable enough where they don’t feel like they could get themselves in trouble selling this product, they’re a lot more comfortable offering it to the homeowner.”
To achieve this, contractors who want to install geothermal need a lot of training.
“Geothermal doesn’t always doesn’t always fit the business model of the average HVAC contractor, because it’s not a ‘what can I get installed today?’ quick and easy project,” said Dona. “You have to put the loop in the ground, so it does take a little bit longer. So, a lot of HVAC contractors will talk people out of geothermal rather than actually give them the educated information to make a decision. … We learn the hard way that if we just get a lead for geothermal and just hand it over to a contractor, they’re going to sell an air-source heat pump.”
Instead, Dona said, “We do the pre-sale on it. We get the customer to want it, and when the system is basically sold, then we hand it to the contractor, then we train them, and we walk them through it, and we do all the processes to help them.”
Once a contractor is comfortable with geothermal, they usually end up loving it. And when they love it, they can sell it.
“It’s not a hard technology, it’s very simple to install, and it’s much easier to work on than anything else out there,” Dona said. “[Contractors] just have this fear of it, so if the customer is not asking for [geothermal], they’re not putting it in.”
Once contractors get past their fear of geothermal, they can help homeowners do the same.
To do this, contractors will have to tailor the way they approach educating each homeowner a little bit differently. To do this, they have to find out what each homeowner’s key HVAC pain points are. Then they’ll know what aspects of geothermal to highlight for them.
“As a contractor, you need to identify the concerns of your homeowners by asking the right questions and listening to what they have to say,” Wolf said. “Every homeowner will have different priorities that they are looking to be met, and geothermal heating and cooling is a win-win opportunity if you can ‘show your work’ in the solutions you provide to their priority concerns.”
Most homeowners will likely cite concerns like the aforementioned upfront cost of a system.
“It’s usually all about the costs,” said Kris. “But because of the fact that geothermal units last twice as long, if it’s 20% more expensive, it’s actually much cheaper because you’re going to have to buy two air-source heat pumps to equal one geothermal unit.”
Longevity, longevity, longevity. That’s one of the major selling points of geothermal systems.
“The geothermal equipment in the home has an average lifespan of around 20-25 years,” said Wolf. “Once the loop field is installed, it has a life span of 100+ years. We really don’t know to what extent. Any replacement project after your initial geothermal installation is only for the equipment in the home, which at that point is comparable to the cost of a traditional gas system (not including energy credits).”
Other key selling points contractors can focus on highlighting are the low operating costs, optimal home comfort, and of course, reduced carbon footprint.
“In addition to efficiency, geothermal has many benefits,” Morrison said. “For example, there is no outdoor unit. Not only is this an aesthetic value, but they are quiet and have greater lifespans as everything is indoors. As each geothermal system is custom, there are more design options, such as radiant floor heating zones.”
Dollars and Sense
Manufacturers of geothermal will use a cost analysis program that can assist contractors in making a geothermal sale.
“The real key to this is you have to run the math on the house and size the house up, and then put that information into the geothermal design program, that will then actually kick out the operating costs, and then you can model the operating cost against different fuel types,” said Kyler.
Over in Maine, an ABM Mechanical geothermal heat pump provides a homeowner with enhanced comfortability and enhanced energy savings. (Photo courtesy of Indiana Geothermal)
Maybe a homeowner’s other option was going to be a propane furnace. These programs allow a contractor to model the geothermal costs against that, or against something like an air-source heat pump, and then present that document to the homeowner.
“You can’t just go to the homeowner and say, ‘Here’s your bid on a geothermal system, it’s $20,000 more’ — you have to give them the supporting documentation of why they would be interested in doing that,” said Kris. “And if you do that, it’s a no-brainer.”
It was 2006 when Kyler Brothers, the HVAC company Kris previously owned for 20 years, sold their highest number of geothermal systems. It was a time before tax credits, utility incentives, or a worldwide push for energy efficiency. The systems stood on their own. And they still can.
“Ultimately, it will sell itself,” said Wolf. “Any contractor ideally, should never have to convince a homeowner of its benefits. You can prove its biggest benefits of long-term savings, carbon reduction, and [increased] comfort with math and science.”
Like any math equation anyone has answered in school, typically the teacher is more interested in how a student got to their answer, rather than what the answer is.
In that same way, “as contractors, we need to show and explain our engineering/design work to the consumer so they can understand how we got to the answers that geothermal provides us,” Wolf said.