Learn about our top 11 Energy Saving Tips:

1. Replace your current heating system to Geothermal if older than 15 years 
2. Seal air leaks and properly insulate to save up to 20% on heating and cooling bills.
3. Install a programmable thermostat to save up to 10% on cooling and heating costs.
4. Clean or change filters regularly. A dirty furnace or A/C filter will slow down air flow and make the system work harder to keep you warm or cool.
5. Use your window shades. Close blinds on the sunny side in summer to keep out the hot sun, and open them in winter to bring in warm rays.
6. Turn off all lights, appliances and electronics not in use. A power strip can help turn off multiple items at once.
7. Change to new light bulbs. Reduce energy as much as 80% with today’s increasing number of energy-efficient halogen incandescent, CFLs and LEDs.
8. Look for the Energy Star label, the government’s symbol of energy efficiency, on a wide range of consumer products to save up to 30% on related electricity bills.
9. Use low-flow faucets and shower heads to save on water bills.
10. Install a heat pump water heaters that can cut water heating costs by an average of 50% over standard electric water heaters.
11. Reduce water heater temperature to 130° F to save energy and money on heating water.

More information about Energy Saving Ideas can be found at the U.S. Department of Energy: Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Website

Geothermal Heat Pump information is also available.

Video of Geothermal Heat Pumps might help you out too!

A 30% Federal Tax Credit is back for Geothermal Heating and Cooling.  This now makes Geothermal Installation affordable and a second option when replacing your heating and cooling system. A system could cost as low as $14,000 with the tax credit.

These tax credits are retroactive to Jan 1, 2017, meaning homeowners who bought a system last year are eligible for the 30% credit. Credits have been extended to December 31, 2021. They will remain at 30% until December 31, 2019, at which point they’ll begin a phase-out. For 2020, the credit will move to 26% and in 2021 the final incentive will be 22%.

Information from the IRS can be found on their website.  We recommend you consult an accounting or tax professional to file correctly.

400% efficiency and low monthly cost to the system can save a homeowner up to $5000 a year in utilities. No longer do homeowners have to pay a gas or fuel company to provide them comfortable heating.

The IRS has just issued an updated 2017 IRS Form 5695  form and Instructions.

“Geothermal energy systems are a great way for homes and businesses to lower their energy costs, and lower their reliance on fossil fuels.” Assemblyman Sean Ryan

More information about the Federal Tax Credit can be seen at the GroundUp website and the ENERGY STAR website.  A guide to how Geothermal works can help provide information on choosing this option for your home.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has up to $15 million available in rebates for the installation of ground source heat pump systems for residences, businesses and institutions. Rebates are only available to qualified installers.

In addition, the current Geothermal Federal Tax credit of 30% can be used to further reduce the system cost up to $7,800 for the homeowner. “This would reduce the final cost to $18,200 with dedicated hot water, and $16,800 without it.” says Andrew Heiligman of Alternative Carbon Energy Systems, Inc. (A.C.E.S. – Energy), another alliance member.

“This is a fantastic opportunity specifically for people who are paying thousands of dollars a year for oil or propane to heat their homes”,  said Bill Nowak, Executive Director of  New York Geothermal Energy Organization.

Buffalo Geothermal partners with Natale Builders for first green housing development in Western New York

Buffalo Geothermal is proud to partner with Natale Builders, one of Western New York’s premier builders, to construct 35 new homes to a new energy efficiency standard unparalleled in the Buffalo/Niagara region.
Rivera Greens is the first certified NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) Green Standards/Eco-Friendly Development in Western New York and consists of the first “Net Zero” homes and development dedicated to conserving Energy
and Green Standards. All home designs in Rivera Greens are Energy Star rated and will save the owners 60%-100% of their utility bills.

Natale Builders is committed to offer those ultra energy efficient homes at no extra costs to its customers, demonstrating a new standard in home building and a leading the way by applying cutting edge energy efficient technology.

Besides dramatically reducing the energy needs of the homes, state of the art geothermal technology will be installed to comfortably heat, cool and dehumidify the energy efficient homes, in addition to heat the domestic hot water.

Natale Builders applies this visionary approach not only with the Rivera Green Development, but has committed itself to offer advanced geothermal heating and cooling systems to all their customers, effectively setting a new standard in energy efficiency.

Please visit the Rivera Green Website for further details.

The Erie Community College (ECC) Green Building Technology Center was designed to showcase cutting-edge energy efficient building technologies in an educational setting. ECC engaged Buffalo Geothermal to design and install a state of the art geothermal heating and cooling system in this rather small 1342 square foot formerly residential house. On display and available for student training are a variety of geothermal and distribution systems.

A dual compressor stage water-to-air heat pump (WaterFurnace 5 Series) provides both heating and cooling. The dual stage technology ensures that the heatpump runs in the more efficient 1st stage most of the time when not the maximum amount of heat is needed. This allows the variable speed fan to adapt and operate at the quietest and most comfortable setting, with the capacity to automatically increase the fanspeed if more capacity is needed. A bottom-discharge configuration was selected to allow for easier viewing by students of the inner workings of this heat pump.

A water-to-water heat pump handles the radiant zones as well as conditioning the domestic hot water for the facility all year around. The most efficient radiant distribution systems were installed, comprising of extruded aluminum panels on top of the subfloor just beneath the finished hardwood flooring, as well as radiant pipes below the floor utilizing aluminum heat transfer plates in order to further reduce the needed water temperature.

Multiple innovative control strategies have been applied in order to maximize efficiency. The system measures the outside temperature and generates only the water temperature needed to heat the building. A single ultra efficient DC inverter driven variable speed pump ensures that only the minimum amount of pumping power is used to keep each radiant zone at a desired temperature. Each radiant zone is controlled by a motorized zone valve and has its own thermostatic settings.

Buffalo Geothermal installed a horizontal slinky loop-field, with 3,000 ft of high density polyethylene pipe set at 8’ depth underneath the surrounding parking lot to allow for effective heat transfer. The loopfield serves both heatpumps at the same time, thus if only one heatpump is running, the flow and pumping power is reduced to save electricity, and the heatpump running benefits from the larger loopfield capacity.

Buffalo Geothermal and Earth Sensitive solutions primarily designed the system as an educational and training tool for the next generation of renewable energy installers studying at ECC, utilizing the newest advancements in geothermal technology and design to push geothermal efficiency and comfort to the next level.

As a leader in geothermal efficiency and design, Buffalo Geothermal conducts regular training sessions to ECC students to provide onsite hands-on experience.

See the Buffalo News article about the EEC green technology center at http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/erie-community-college/ecc-opens-green-center-to-train-students-in-solar-wind-and-geothermal-technologies-20130912

Buffalo Geothermal partners with Rehwaldt Builders for energy efficient Deerview development in Royalton, NY

Buffalo Geothermal is proud to partner with Rehwaldt builders for the all new Deer View patio home development in Royalton, NY. All homes will be Energy Star rated and built to be highest standard in efficiency and sustainability, having a high efficiency geothermal system for heating, cooling and hot water generation, running completely without any fossil fuel.
This allows country side living in a beautiful setting without the dependency for propane or heating oil, the lowest possible operational cost and the highest comfort available today.”

Learn more about the Deerview development

With Buffalo Geothermal ultra efficient systems, Natale Builders receives 2014 NAHB ‘Project of the Year Award for Green Site Development’

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) presented its prestigious “Project of the Year Award for Green Site Development – Single-family Detached” to Natale Builders on February 5, 2014 for the company’s construction of the ultra-efficient, environmentally-friendly Rivera Greens subdivision. Located in Clarence, New York, the 35 sustainable green homes in the community were all built to meet certification requirements for the National Green Building Standard (NGBS).

“It’s an honor to receive this NAHBGreen Award for the first green development created in New York State,” says Larry LaDuca, general manager of Natale Builders in Clarence, N.Y. “We constructed each home in the Rivera Greens development from the ground up with green building practices and products.”

“We’re very proud that 95 percent of the homes in this development use an alternative energy source such as geothermal or solar,” LaDuca said. “Every home at Rivera Greens consists of near-energy-neutral homes and exceed ENERGY STAR 3.0 qualifications.”

According to NAHB, The Green Project Awards category highlights those projects showcasing outstanding application of green technologies to a variety of project types. All projects are scored to the ICC 700 National Green Building Standard to establish the relative sustainability of each, and then judged on other merits such as green innovation and design.