Like most build industries, it is easy to low-ball a quote. Separate the end user from the product (ie- through a developer or builder) and that is the tendency - to bid low. Here’s how it is done: use junk for heat pumps: single speed, no warranty, single-walled exchanger, piston compressor, and the list goes on. shortcuts [...]
Entries Tagged as 'economics'
How to Low-Ball a Geothermal Quote
August 29th, 2010 · 1 Comment · economics, geothermal, installation, pricing
Tags:
The Death of YellowPages?
August 9th, 2009 · 1 Comment · economics
Summary: not quite yet. But it is that time of year when we get approached to review our Yellow Pages contract. As this can add up to some big $’s, we took some time to review our marketing strategy and the role Yellow Pages plays. I honestly don’t know if we’ve ever got a contract [...]
Tags:
Money Back – EcoEnergy Grants Have Increased
March 31st, 2009 · No Comments · economics, geothermal, grants
As of today, EcoEnergy grants have increased 25%. CGC announced the press release: The grant for a new geoexchange installation (i.e. installing a new system where no geoexchange system existed before) has been increased from $3,500 to $4,375. The grant for the replacement (upgrade) of an existing geoexchange installation has been raised from $1,400 to [...]
Tags:
We need to ask a lot of questions.
December 5th, 2008 · No Comments · design, economics, geothermal, questions
Why is it so difficult to give a client a price just over the phone on what their geothermal system will cost? We can give a range – a ballpark $20,000-$35,000+, but we need to know what the client is looking for so we know what we have to accomplish. Clients have a wide variety [...]
Tags:
Some Quick Numbers
September 15th, 2008 · No Comments · FAQ, economics, geothermal
Did some quick math to determine our installed systems are the following: 57% forced air systems 7% radiant systems 36% both (forced air and radiant) Also, the retrofits to new construction is: 54% retrofits 36% new construction
Tags:
Top Ten Things to do with your $100
June 4th, 2008 · No Comments · economics, news
British Columbia’s new carbon tax comes in effect on July 1st. As part of the new tax plan, carbon-based fuels ”including gasoline, diesel, natural gas, propane, coal and home heating fuel ” will be taxed at $10 per tonne of greenhouse gases generated, starting July 1, 2008. That will translate into a new 2.4 cents [...]
Tags:
BC Provincial Rebate
May 21st, 2008 · No Comments · economics, grants, pricing
BC Provincial Rebate The BC Government, has come out with the details of their provincial LiveSmart BC program. For the geothermal world, we are looking at a $1250 rebate for converting an existing heating/cooling system to geothermal. The ecoENERGY program is still in operation, and a $3500 rebate is still available through it. I’m pretty [...]
Tags:
Geothermal in the Shoulder Seasons (Spring and Fall)
April 5th, 2008 · 2 Comments · economics, geothermal, operation
One complication with heating systems is they can short-cycle (flip back and forth from heating to cooling) if the thermostat is set to “auto” verses “manual”. In the milder temperatures of spring and fall the weather can change from heating to cooling requirements over the course of the day. One suggestion to help reduce your [...]
Tags:
Setbacks with Heat Pumps
November 21st, 2007 · 4 Comments · economics, geothermal, heat pump
Conventional system (gas, electric, etc.) thermostats are often setback at different times of day to save heating costs. An example is lowering the thermostat at night a few degrees while you sleep, or during the day while you are at work. Geothermal heat pumps operate more efficiently at maintaining a constant temperature. It is common [...]
Tags:
Do it yourself geothermal?
November 3rd, 2007 · 8 Comments · design, economics, geothermal, pricing, transparency
This is a bit of a detailed post. So for the quick summary – don’t try to install a geothermal system yourself. This post could have been titled “What you don’t want to hear”. There are a few reasons geothermal installation is difficult for the DIY (do-it-yourselfer): design is complicated; it may be difficult to [...]
Tags: