The 30% federal tax credit for geothermal heat pumps in the residential sector and the 10% credit for qualifying commercial geothermal installations has been reinstated. They are also retroactive to cover any installations done since the last Federal Tax Credit sunset in December 2016. The tax credits will remain in effect until December 31, 2019, at which […]
Just as Nest disrupted the thermostat industry with its Nest Learning Thermostat, there is a new tech start-up attempting to solve home comfort and air distribution balancing issues. Ecovent stealthily started up around May 2015, but really debuted recently at the 2016 Consumer Electronics show. This time, the disruptor wasn’t developed in Silicon Valley, but […]
The combination of new FEMA flood insurance requirements, aging chiller and cooling tower plants, fears of legionella contamination and illness, a surging real estate market and increased population density are converging to create a perfect storm for VRF growth in the New York metropolitan area and beyond. Currently, we are involved in several multi-tenant VRF […]
The New York State Assembly and Senate have passed the Geothermal Tax Credit bill A2177A (A2177A-2015). This bill allows for a 25% state income tax credit up to a maximum of $5000 for a new geothermal HVAC system. It now is before Governor Andrew Cuomo for signature and adoption or veto. Next up is NY […]
The reverberations from construction code revisions as a result of Hurricane Sandy are now being felt for HVAC installations in New York City. Have you tried to file for installation of an HVAC system in lower Manhattan lately? If so, you may have been pulled for audit to assure compliance with Appendix G – Flood […]
Unfortunately, as this News 12 expose’ reveals, not all geothermal HVAC installers are looking out for their customers’ best interests. Geothermal HVAC Installer Scams Consumers We have received a spate of phone calls from potential customers regarding the alleged unscrupulous activities of a competitor whose prices and promised incentives seemed to be too good to […]
Here in the northeast, the recent price erosion of natural gas due to hydrofracturing has made it more difficult to sell geothermal by ROI payback analysis alone. It was still a home run against oil comparisons when including the 30% Federal Renewable Energy Tax Credit. In a major blow to the industry, the IRS recently […]
For some time now I have been advocating for an indoor single phase VRF (variable refrigerant flow) split system with a horizontal discharge condensing unit for window, through the wall and/or louver applications. Even though VRF systems have the capability for long refrigerant piping runs for outdoor roof or areaway space, sometimes that space is […]
In our annual review of home heating fuels on Long Island, nothing has changed except for the widened gap between fuel oil and Natural gas prices. Today, “Prices for crude oil and natural gas moved in opposite directions after the U.S. government issued weekly supply reports for both fuels. Benchmark oil for October delivery gained 93 […]
Back in February we discussed Sensible Rebuilding and HVAC Installation with Future Flooding in Mind. According to this New York Times article, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a panel of renowned international scientists, has determined that because of human activity causing global climate change, it is conceivable that we will have a 3 foot rise in […]
