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Celebrating 16 Years at Colorado Geothermal Drilling

16 years ago this month we founded Colorado Geothermal Drilling and began our journey into ‘planned unemployment’.

Dan jokes we’ve been unemployed since starting our own business- doesn’t feel like work when you love what you do! We began planning our future employment in our 20’s when we lived in Iowa. We went through all kinds of scenarios on where, when, and how we would bring geothermal to more people. Little did we know that a job offer for Kari in Colorado would bring us here and end up being one of the best decisions we ever made. We packed up everything we owned and sold our house in a matter of weeks and ventured out West. Initially, Dan worked for another engineering firm and Kari as an athletic trainer. After one year in Colorado things started falling into place and it’s fun to look back at how everything worked out. Dan’s raise and bonus that year were unimpressive and led us to make the decision to go all in and for him to leave his engineering firm. Even when his firm tried to counter him with a new offer he told them he didn’t even want to know what it was. We would live on Kari’s little salary and take a leap of faith. No longer working for ‘the man’ was a dream we shared and knew we would make happen.

Those early years were very impactful as we learned so much about how to start a small business, different installation scenarios, operating and designing equipment, grouting, streamlining processes, marketing, networking and building relationships. So many people impacted us in the beginning and lent us an ear for all of our questions. Dan met Sam Bandimere and began to soak in everything about drilling. Dan’s father, Doug, was our first employee and his parents took a risk and lent us money to buy equipment and materials. Luckily a few people had some trust in us. We paid that loan back within a few years and I’ll never forget the banker for praising us for paying off his parents second mortgage LOL. I just laughed and said it was what we owed them for supporting us.

Owners at Colorado Geothermal Drilling

“To be the one to make the decisions that directly impact your life is a wonderful thing.”

Many people will measure your success based on how large your company is and how much money you make. Size and money have never been our goals. We wanted to make the decisions that would impact us in ways that working for others used to.  We wanted to run a company that treats its employees like we wanted to be treated. To provide outstanding service and education to our partners and commitment to quality for our clients. To learn from missteps and improve ourselves and our business on our journey. To leave a mark in our industry and better it. To support our community and other business owners in ways we couldn’t before. To be the best at what we do and hopefully lead a fulfilling life along the way. And to bring affordable and quality geothermal to all.

Our journey hasn’t been with out challenge and sacrifice. But I like to think we’ve embraced everything that has come at us with an attitude to conquer it, learn from it,  and only repeat the things that make us effective, efficient, and better. Thank you to all of the people along the way that have supported us, done business with us, worked for us, and partnered with us. We would not be where we are today with out you!

Geothermal: Drill. Conquer. Repeat

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Congress Extends Tax Benefits for Geothermal Heat Pumps

Geothermal Heat Pump Tax Credits
Geothermal Heating and Cooling
Geothermal Heating and Cooling

By Kari Rau

December 30, 2020: In the newest spending bill recently passed by Congress, legislation includes key renewable energy tax credit extensions for Geothermal Heat Pumps. Previously, the tax credits were set to decrease after December 31, 2020 to 22%. Now, the tax credits will remain in effect at 26% until the end of 2022. In 2023, the credit steps down to 22% and then expires in 2024. Note: the tax credit was at 30% in 2019 until it deceased to 26% in 2020.

What Does This Mean?

It means that homeowners that want the most energy efficient heating and cooling system available can now continue to receive a 26% tax credit through December 31, 2022. Just considering a geothermal system in your home puts in you in an elite category of exceptionally smart homeowners. We call them Genius Geothermal Homeowners because they are not just looking to save money, they want to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and build sustainable, safe, and efficient homes.

Who Is Eligible for the Geothermal Tax Credit?

For most homeowners, any geothermal heat pump placed into service before December 31, 2022 can be eligible for the federal tax credit. There are certain energy efficiency requirements that must be met so make sure to determine that with your installer. Keep in mind you can also combine other applicable energy efficiency upgrades like solar too. And as always, consult a tax professional for guidance.

Are There Other Geothermal Incentives or Rebates Available?

For our clients in Colorado, check with your local utility company for possible geothermal heat pump rebates. United Power offers a Geothermal Heat Pump Rebate Program, more information HERE. Xcel Energy also offers heat pump rebates. And for our norther Colorado clients, Poudre Valley REA also offers geothermal heat pump rebates.

Certain requirements apply to each program such as Energy Star requirements, installer requirements, etc so make sure you familiarize yourself and ask your HVAC contractor or geothermal installer.

what we doWhat Are The Benefits of Having a Geothermal System?

The perks of having a geothermal system installed in your home are abundant and now is a great time to get an energy efficient, environmentally friendly, eco-luxury geothermal system. To learn more about geothermal benefits Click Here.

The landscape for promoting the use of energy efficient renewable energy is ever changing. As more and more people see the benefits and advantages of installing these systems in their homes, they are always asking us, “Why aren’t more people doing this?!”. The good news is that it more and more people are!

Family-owned and operated since 2005, Colorado Geothermal Drilling has been the leading installation contractor for geothermal systems along the Front Range in Colorado. We strive to master leading edge technology and pride ourselves on the quality of services we commit to our clients. Our set-up is unique as we are able to access compact areas with our equipment, setting us apart from other drilling operations. With our vast knowledge of geothermal design and installation we can provide customers with valuable information, answering any questions, and providing the best energy efficient system to fit the clients’ needs. The combination of this equipment and our personnel allow us to successfully and repeatedly complete numerous drilling projects along the Front Range. We can also assist a client’s other contractors during any part of the planning process. We want to make sure our clients have the most energy efficient geothermal system to fit their needs.

With over 600 systems installed, our background in geothermal design and installation is incomparable. With a growing interest in renewable energy, we are committed to bringing affordable geothermal systems to all! We are the geothermal experts.

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Geothermal in Apartment Buildings

Geothermal in Apartments

Colorado Geothermal Drilling Installed a Geothermal System in a Large Multi Family Building to Provide Unique Savings to Developers in Brighton, CO

On a project in Colorado, 12 apartment buildings comprised of 288 one-, two-, three-bedroom apartments are being heated and cooled by a geothermal system installed by Colorado Geothermal Drilling.

Over a period of approximately 12 weeks, our crew of 3-4 on-site geothermal installers drilled in 120 310-foot loops and four 380-foot loops for a combined total of just over 15 miles of geothermal pipe in the ground. The skid mounted drill and crew averaged about 610 vertical-feet drilling a day while grouting and backfilling boreholes. Work efficiency was essential to this project so the skilled crew worked tirelessly to develop processes that allowed them to complete more work in a safe and timely manner. Once drilling was completed on a building, headering occurred the following week and drilling continued on the next building. This kept the project delivery on schedule and continued as framing of the buildings began.

Interior work for the project was no different. Each apartment was supplied with their own heat pump. Each building was supplied with its own circulation system of 2 ECM variable speed circulation pumps. Twelve buildings and a club house completed the project. All of the drilling took place after the building foundations were backfilled. Rough installation of interior pipe was done during rough duct work installation. After painting was complete, heat pumps were set and final piping connections were made to each heat pump, mechanical room piping was installed, and the geothermal system was purged for the apartment building.

  • Geothermal Heat Pumps Thornton, CO 80602

With utility company and federal rebate incentives, and a proper, economically designed system and installation; these large geothermal heat pump projects are very feasible. Lower overall energy use for heating and cooling systems are very attractive to developers, building owners, and residents. The combination of all these savings off-set the higher up front costs and make the geothermal system competitive and more cost effective than a conventional HVAC system over the long term.

Colorado Geothermal Drilling has designed and installed over 600 geothermal projects and is owned by Dan and Kari Rau. For any questions on this geothermal project, contact Dan at dan@cogeothermal.com.

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4 Reasons You Need a Geothermal Heating and Cooling System Now

4 Reasons You Need A Geothermal System Now

Let’s be honest, there are more than 4 reasons to install the best heating and cooling system available, according to the EPA, but how many do you need when this system can give you piece of mind, comfort, and cost savings?

The perks of installing a geothermal system are endless, but lets start with these 4:

4. Geothermal is Clean & Invisible. What the……you ask? A great benefit of geothermal is it is clean, and you don’t even know it’s there. Clean, as in there is no onsite combustion of fossil fuel to heat your home. You may have a natural gas furnace that emits carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, volatile organic compounds as well as other nitrous oxides but geothermal does not.  And invisible as in there is no loud, ugly, outside air conditioner ruining your beautiful outside aesthetics because inside, the (GSHP) ground source heat pump is operating quietly and efficiently. You know that loud hum you hear when your neighbor’s 12-year-old air conditioner kicks in while are enjoying the fruits of your labor in the backyard. It makes a difference!

Geothermal Installation Geothermal Drilling, Firestone 80603
Geothermal system being installed in yard of home

3. Geothermal gives you comfortable heating, cooling, and can even pre-heat your domestic hot water heater! Simply put, in the winter warmth is drawn from the ground through a loop carrying a water solution to a heat pump (GSHP) inside your home. The GSHP concentrates the Earth’s thermal energy and transfers it to air circulated through duct work or radiant heat in flooring. In the summer, the process is reversed and heat is extracted from the air inside your home and transferred back to the ground. As an added bonus, the waste heat from the compressor can be used to preheat water for your hot water heater! That’s comfort and cost savings!

Geothermal Vertical Loop
Geothermal ground source heat exchange

2. Did you know that having solar or geothermal is not an either/or scenario but are actually a great compliment to each other? As you already know, solar power is using the sun to create power and geothermal systems can be a great compliment to them. A geothermal system can save you money because for every unit of energy used to power the system, 3-5 units are supplied as heat. Where a fossil fuel furnace may be 78-80% efficient, a geothermal heat pump is about 400% efficient! So you can power your home and heat pump with the sun and heat and cool it with the bountiful, stored energy in your yard! Planned correctly, you can get to net zero, where the total amount of energy used by your home on an annual basis is roughly equal to the amount of renewable energy created on site. Check out more about that here!

Geothermal Savings
Geothermal Savings

1. Geothermal will save you money! Until December 31, 2019, the federal government is offering renewable energy tax credits for geothermal heating and cooling systems. The credit is a 30% tax savings for installations through the end of December 2019. It starts to decrease in 2020. This tax credit coupled with energy efficient operation of a geothermal system yield big savings for homeowners! Also, utility companies are offering exclusive rebates for installing energy efficient equipment. For example, in Colorado, United Power and Tri-State G & T are offering $200/ton and $500/ton respectively! An average 3000 square foot house might have a 4-ton ground-source geothermal system in it, yielding a rebate of $2800! Add in the federal tax credit and homeowners are seeing great savings that quickly offset the initial difference in purchase price.

The perks of having a geothermal system are abundant and now is a great time to get an energy efficient, environmentally friendly, ecoluxury geothermal system for a price close to a conventional system!

As Owner and Vice President of Colorado Geothermal Drilling, Kari Rau has a passion for spreading the efficacious benefits of geothermal because she likes getting people excited about the things she’s excited about. Her aptitudes are vast, from blogging about energy efficiency and saving money to amplifying green business with her husband and managing their charming mile high properties. In addition to running two esteemed businesses, Kari sits on the Steering Committee of the Brighton Business Builders and enjoys spending time with her family outdoors.

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The Geothermal Gossiper: Case Study – First Universalist Church

Leaf

Colorado Geothermal Drilling was proud to be apart of a project with First Universalist Church. Thanks to Lightly Treading for sharing this video.

It is so fantastic to see a group come together with a mission of creating a better environment at their place of worship. With valuable input from their members they made their place of worship environmentally friendly, sustainable, energy efficient, and net zero! With proper design and planning it CAN be done!

It was a pleasure to be a part of this project!

Kari Rau is Chief Idea Officer at Colorado Geothermal Drilling, a Geothermal Gossiper, Serial Chips and Queso Addict, and World’s Okayest Mom. Follow me on social media to see what we are up to!

Instagram @cogeothermaldrilling

Facebook @COGeothermal

Twitter @CoGeoDrilling