The Dawning of a New Era

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.” -Seneca The Geoexchange Solutions blog is on the air. We'll be lively (certainly), informative (probably) and insightful (hopefully). We have a passion for thermal transfer and thermal storage, energy efficiency, sustainable building and micro/macro economic transformation through clean technologies. We hope to pass on news, resources and observations that span a number of worlds, industries and mindsets. Of course, we are in the business of helping businesses, and look to bring our combined expertise to bear on building client's capacities to thrive in this strange new world. All our previous beginnings and experiences in the heat pump industry and elsewhere have brought us to this point. We look forward to the adventure ahead and your joining us for the ride.

What was your Geo Aha Moment?

I have spent a lot of time the past few years studying the geo industry and surveying and interviewing a vast assortment of characters. One of the more interesting aspects I became aware of was the degree to which anyone coming into contact with heat pumps had a revelatory "Aha" moment, when the scales fell from your eyes and you suddenly  "just get it." When respondents in one of the Project Negatherm surveys were asked how they first learned of ground source heat pumps and how they became involved in the business, they replied in a variety of ways: a current driller is a former HVAC contractor who was asked about GSHPs by their customers, another is a former middle school teacher who learned about it from his students. Most respondents mentioned taking IGSHPA, Heatspring or NGWA training classes as their first contact. The  tag cloud highlights the content generated from the following question: “How did you first learn about GSHP technology?” Thermodynamic laws are like finance concepts: there is no gradual progress in grasping them. It either makes sense or it doesn't. But when it does, when the constant temperature of the ground combines with the differences throughout the year between ground and air temps and the heat transfer properties of water and the thermal compression ratios kicks in, that's how "Ahas" happen. Of course, the difference about people within the geo industry is the width and depth of these epiphanies, which are powerful enough to get people spreading the word and making a career out of providing sustainable cooling, heating and hot water. So why do you do what you do? What was your "Geo Aha Moment?" Comment below.