Geothermal Moves on Without Tax Credits

SPAWNING A NEW INDUSTRY: THE INFLUENCE OF MEDIA

It started back in 1982, when Dan Ellis had a display at a local trade show showing a ground coupling of heat pumps. An employee of The NEWS saw the display and interviewed Ellis. When the article ran in March 1982, Ellis started getting calls from all across the U.S, which prompted him to start thinking on a bigger scale. One of those who read the article was Dave Hatherton, a driller from Canada. Within a short time, Ellis and Hatherton became close friends. The duo soon became the exclusive residential distributor for Command Aire in Waco, Texas, which led to the formation of WaterFurnace Intl. Inc.

This was the beginning of an industry that, while still somewhat unknown to many, has matured incredibly throughout the world.

Both Hatherton and Ellis have continued in the industry to this day, holding prominent positions in industry and business. After helping WaterFurnace establish itself in the residential geothermal heat pump (GHP) market, Ellis went on to build ClimateMaster Inc., a large manufacturer of geothermal heating and cooling equipment. Hatherton continued his work in Ontario, Canada, running one of the largest distributors of GHPs in North America. Both have worked tirelessly in the industry toward the implementation of geothermal heating and cooling on a large scale.

This year, at the AHR Expo in Las Vegas, Ellis and Hatherton again spent some reflective time in the WaterFurnace Intl. Inc. booth, just as they did in WaterFurnace’s first 10-by-10-foot booth at the 1983 ASHRAE show in Atlantic City.

This meeting marks approximately 35 years of geothermal industry efforts. That seems like a long time. I compare that to my memories in 1970 when I was in elementary school in Barstow, California. I remember clearly my teacher, Mrs. Simms, telling us to get ready for the future. By the time we got into junior high school, everything would be metric, all the new cars would be electric, and solar panels would power the world, she said.

What happened? While not quite as quickly as some might have expected, I think we can all agree that electric cars are gaining acceptance, and solar PV is coming of age. I’m not so sure the metric system is going to be accepted in the U.S. anytime soon; however, the solar/electric effort is at least 47 years in the making.

The common thread is the great media attention. From 1982, when The NEWS saw Ellis’ display and ran that fateful article to today with this and other articles, The NEWS has been there for the HVAC industry, at large, and certainly for the geothermal heat pump industry.