Air conditioning Research Institute (ARI) - The ARI is the performance testing organization for the air conditioning industry. This also includes any refrigerant type of unit used for heating too. The ARI can be reached at their web site at www.ari.org.

ARI sets the standards for the geothermal equipment manufacturers by naming standards and publishing major manufacturers equipment as they are tested to these standards. This in not a one time deal,but a continuing thing for the geothermal equipment member manufacturers. Not all geothermal manufacturers are members of ARI, and not all geothermal equipments meet ARI's stringent requirements. Without those standards you could be buying "Bob's Horsepower" or "Fred's Peak" Power, whatever that means.

The geothermal standards set for the United States market are:

ARI-320 - This is not a geothermal standard, but water source heating and cooling units operated on a boiler and cooling tower closed loop. The performance numbers do not include the required pumping energy costs to supply the units with water or fluid, nor the fuel energy of the boiler or high fan horsepower of the cooling tower. In effect, it gives you false performance figures, because there are hidden extra operating costs you don't see..

ARI-325(70) - This is predominantly for geothermal units operated in the South where average ground water temperatures vary around 70'F. These performance figures do include pumping energy costs to supply the units with water.No hidden operating costs .

ARI-325(50) - This is predominantly for geothermal units operated in the North where average ground water temperatures vary around 50'F.These performance figures do include pumping energy costs to supply the units with water. No hidden operating costs .

ARI-330 - This is for heating and cooling outputs of geothermal equipments operated on a closed loop installation. These performance figures do include pumping energy costs to supply the units with antifreeze fluid. The standard input for heating is 32'F, and for cooling is 77'F Entering Fluid Temperature. No hidden operating costs .

In the Northeast, over the past 30 some years Smart-Energy has found geothermal units operating under ARI-325(50) to be significantly more efficient, and have higher output capacities, than their counterparts operating on ARI-330.

The argument that closed loops are more efficient in ARI-330 because they use circulators where in ARI-325(50) we use pumps has been proven wrong consistently by ARI standard tests.

A geothermal unit running on ARI-325 produces higher levels of both heating and cooling than the same unit operating on ARI-330, thereby requiring less run time to satisfy space temperature requirements. Given the advantage of the clean water ( fuel ) source and the high density bedrock we have throughout the Northeast why would anyone throw away this clear performance advantage and opt for a closed loop vs.an open ( or VSWC) system.

A good case in point is a real geothermal unit with the following data. The manufacturer is one of the four best in the industry, as follows.

Unit Size - 3 Tons ( this is the same exact piece of equipment in both cases )

Under ARI-330 Operating Conditions
     Heat Output ... 28,000 BTUH ... COP 3.0
     Cooling Output ... 36,000 BTUH ...EER 11.2

Under ARI-325(50)
     Heat Output ... 35,000 BTUH ... COP 3.2
     Cooling Output ... 42,500 BTUH ... EER 14.5

Of the over 600 geothermal systems we have put in since 1975, only 6 are closed loops operating on ARI-330. The rest are Water Well VSWC systems operating on ARI-325(50).

International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA) - IGSHPA is the continuous training and watch dog orginization of the geothermal industry. Insuring state of the art and up to date training in all of the required disciplines required to design, install, and service today's most efficient heating and cooling systems. They are head quartered Oklahoma State University and can be reached at their web site at www.igshpa.okstate.edu/ .

Through continuing education and membership IGSHPA insures the highest quality standards be met and maintained in the industry. A current IGSHPA membership, as well as valid Accredited IGSHPA Installing Contractor's card by your designer and installer also help maintain this standard. Not all IGSHPA members are accredited installers. Engineers, Architects, and utilities can be members of IGSHPA, but are not accredited installers.

IGSHPA lists it's Accredited Installing Contractors by state. Smart-Energy is listed in New York and Vermont, though we can do design and installations in any state. We currently also have installations in Massachusetts and New Jersey.

Whenever possible Smart-Energy tries to deal with IGSHPA Accredited Drilling Contractors.