The market for ground-source heat pumps is linked directly to the growth of geothermal as a way to heat and cool homes. After all, heat pumps are the link between the heat in the ground and the home. Geothermal still struggles to gain traction as an alternative energy source, but many trends are in its favor.
Doug Dougherty, CEO of the Geothermal Exchange Organization (GEO), said his group’s members had high expectations for 2020 until the coronavirus pandemic. Orders for geothermal systems dropped as projects were either canceled or scaled back. The outlook for 2021 isn’t as good because federal tax incentives will drop to 22 percent of the installation cost from 26 percent.