The Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 (HR 1424) provided the shot in the arm the geothermal segment of the HVAC industry needed in order to expand and grow. HR 1424 offers a one-time tax credit of 30 percent of the total investment for homeowners who install residential ground-loop or ground-water geothermal heat pumps, and a tax credit of 10 percent of the total investment is also available, with no maximum, for commercial system installations.
The residential portion of the tax credit presents a larger percentage of credit and would seem more valuable, but, for many contractors, the commercial portion of the credit provides a distinct advantage when selling the technology.