Earth Energy Solutions Inc Rides The Wave of Soaring Oil Prices

Still waiting for the magic hydrogen "fuel cell" energy breakthrough? Do you dream that solar energy might someday actually help you beat the high cost of heating or electricity? If so, you will definitely be interested to know about another "green" technology that's being distributed by an Ottawa-based heating and air conditioning company in Canada, that sells only environmentally friendly products.

"While conventional home heating companies continue to sell their petroleum burning furnaces, many home owners and building contractors are opting out of these systems altogether and looking towards new technologies to make their homes much cheaper to heat and cool as well as more attractive to sell", says John Lobb, of Earth Energy Solutions. "We are offering a product unlike any other in the heating and air conditioning marketplace. Rising oil prices coupled with unprecedented environmental concerns continue to drive our sales and underscore the tremendous advantages of these systems."

"Our focus has turned to a new, direct expansion (DX) heating and cooling product line which uses no fossil fuels and we are the only authorized dealer and installer of this technology in Eastern Ontario. With every increase in the price of gas or oil, the decision to install our DX equipment becomes more rewarding. You can pay the petroleum industry to pump oil out of the ground, or you can pump heating and cooling energy right out of your own back yard and forget about oil, gas and propane price increases. This is the cheapest way, by far, to automatically heat and cool your house…period. You do not have to install a chimney, an oil tank, a propane tank or have natural gas pipes installed at your house. There is no combustion or flames of any kind with our systems and the home does not emit any green house gasses or fossil fuel by-products. These systems also provide air conditioning without an outdoor fan unit. This technology is recommended by both Natural Resources Canada and the EPA in the USA."

Harvesting energy from the earth is nothing new, of course, but the method of how this is achieved is what makes the Earth Energy product offerings more attractive than petroleum based technologies. The efficiency of the units is a function of a combination of things, one of which is the exchange of energy within the earth.

"That's where the new DX technology kicks in. What we are now able to do with this equipment is directly withdraw energy from a virtually limitless underground supply. The technology was developed to harvest available underground energy and give you the ability to heat and cool your home with great efficiency. This equipment is rated as having a performance coefficient of between 3 and 4. That means that for every dollar of electricity you put into the DX unit, you will receive between three and four dollars worth of heating or cooling energy out. That net gain of energy you get from the earth is absolutely free. We access it by drilling small vertical bore holes 100 feet down into the earth and then installing sealed energy exchangers. We can drill through rock, limestone, clay or any other substrate commonly found in Canada. We can drill these holes right in your front yard, if space allows. Last month we installed a system in solid granite. One hundred foot holes were bored in less than an hour. With new homes, we can even pre-install the underground part of your system prior to the foundation being poured, directly under your house," continued Mr Lobb.

Recently, Earth Energy Solutions was featured on CJOH TV Ottawa, where they were able to demonstrate a complete installation being done in the west of Ottawa. This informative video is available on the web site at EarthEnergySolutions.ca in the media announcements section. The company was also featured on the Ottawa Citizen Business TV show, with Janet Eastman on November the 7th. This video is also available at the web site.

The founding partners of the company, Mike Parlato (A well known contractor with 30 years of experience) and Peter Baker (Former general manager at one of Ottawa's largest HVAC companies) combined forces after a chance discussion they had while working on some conventional, new-home heating projects. As it turned out, they were both interested in the prospects of DX geothermal heating and decided to investigate. After a trip to the Maritime Geothermal manufacturing facility in New Brunswick, discussing the features that made the technology operate, and seeing the actual equipment in place and working at residences and businesses, they decided to form a partnership and bring the product to Ontario and Quebec. Since then, they have equipped many homes in the Ottawa region, and there are ongoing projects in Sudbury, Mont Tremblant and eastern Ontario. In addition, partnered with EnviroVest Energy Ventures Inc., Earth Energy Solutions will be installing another Martitime Geothermal system at the Eco-Cite project, (www.ecocite.ca) an environmentally friendly 25 unit condo in downtown Ottawa. As well, they are actively advocating the technology to both the federal and provincial governments, where the Kyoto Accord and other environmental policies dictate the adoption of 'Green technologies." Earth Energy is the only registered supplier and certified installer of this technology to the federal government. Surprisingly though, both the feds and the provincial governments seem slow to adopt the very technologies that will help them to achieve their stated goals. "We are offering a product that meets all the criteria of the "One ton challenge" and the Kyoto accord; we are actually listed on government web sites as providers of the most efficient heating and AC products available. We have sold lots of systems to savvy contractors and home owners but we have yet to sell one to any level of government in the National Capital Region."

"Maritime Geothermal equipment is in a number of federal buildings in eastern Canada," states Mr Lobb, adding, "Cheap, clean, safe, sustainable and environmentally friendly heating and air conditioning. It makes perfect sense and the phone calls that we are getting clearly indicate that planners are taking notice. You will definitely see these systems installed in government properties here very soon. We also get calls from homebuilders every week. Their customers are specifically asking for this equipment. The level of interest is tremendous."
"These really are unbelievable products," says Mr Parlato. "Our biggest problem now is meeting demand. We are managing, but it is a challenge to keep up. When people see the units, see the savings and comprehend the environmental advantages, they are very impressed," adding, "The concept of no longer being at the mercy of foreign oil cartels or receiving bills for gas, oil or propane…it seems too good to be true. But it really is possible. The word is getting out that this technology is the real deal."

Peter Baker, Earth Energys co-founder agrees, adding "Coming from a background of conventional oil and natural gas heating products as I do, it is really rewarding to finally be able to offer home owners a truly green alternative which is both environmentally friendly and infinitely cheaper to operate than conventional heating systems. It is our belief that this technology will become the new standard for sustainable and environmentally friendly heating and air conditioning equipment. We have customers who now save hundreds per month compared to their previous heating and air conditioning systems. So the question to buy is not "Can I afford this?" The real question becomes "Can I afford not to buy this given that we are choking on smog, running out of fossil fuels, and can be certain that as supplies dwindle, petroleum prices will continue to rise dramatically." The systems typically cost two to three times as much as a conventional HVAC system but when you add up the monetary savings over five or ten years, the numbers are staggering: $200, $300, even $400 or more per month in savings is common with DX equipment. At the low end, that's $12,000 in savings over only five years. For a larger house saving $500 per month over ten years, that's $60,000 of after tax dollars; more than the average annual salary of most Canadians. And this figure does not take into consideration inflation or oil price increases. Another part of the equation to consider is that these units will typically last 2 to 3 times as long as a conventional furnace, so more money is saved there.

"The money you pay for these systems is soon recovered and it makes the house infinitely more attractive when it comes time to sell. With equipment life expectancies of twenty to thirty years, the accrual of savings is always impressive. We use detailed computer analysis to compare costs from every aspect," states Lobb. "We can calculate the savings per month, per year, even up to 30 years down the road and then do comparisons to conventional equipment. When customers can see it on paper, there is no doubt that these systems offer the best value. With new homes, the savings begin to accrue immediately, and the small difference to the mortgage is more than covered by not having to pay for oil or gas bills. In addition, there is no routine maintenance on the units except for changing the air filter. When all is said and done, the monthly costs are appreciably lower. Our customers also notice that these systems offer improved comfort and temperature stability throughout the home due to the thorough air cycling which is inherent with this technology."

Earth Energy also offers low interest financing through Homeworks' financing.
In addition to the savings customers realize every day with equipment like this, there are other incentives to encourage Canadians to go geothermal. If an "Energuide" assessment is done, residents will qualify for rebates on subsequent home improvements that increase the energy efficiency of the home.

Is a DX high efficiency heating and AC system for you? Obviously, there are some questions that need to be answered in order to determine this. If you are planning to build a new home, Earth Energy can definitely design and install the entire system, including ductwork and radiant floor heating, if wanted. To establish whether an existing home is a DX candidate, an analysis of the current heating system will have to be done. Sometimes, modifications will be required to accommodate these systems.

Although Earth Energy is currently only installing in the Ottawa region, west Quebec and Montreal, they are actively recruiting heating contractors in other areas. For more product information, please visit the EarthEnergySolutions.ca website or call (613) 839-1700. If you would prefer, you can go to their web site to fill out an online questionnaire. Using the information you provide there, a service person can make an initial assessment and email or call you back to follow up.