Sparta's West Michigan Geothermal brings energy efficiency home

B & B Heating and Cooling started 10 years ago as two guys working out of cardboard boxes from the back of a truck, installing and repairing traditional heating and cooling systems. Today, company leaders say the firm is the third largest energy efficient geothermal WaterFurnace dealer in West Michigan.

Four years ago, B & B decided to diversify from offering just traditional heating and cooling methods by adding the geothermal WaterFurnace line and starting a second company, West Michigan Geothermal. Since then, the company has grown 25 percent, stabilized its workforce at 18 employees, has 10 trucks on the road and moved into a new 8,000-square-foot facility in Sparta.

The new building, heated and cooled by two geothermal units, serves as a showplace where both residential and commercial customers can experience the energy efficient systems first-hand.

"The demand for renewable energy is on the rise, and not just with new construction. If you have LP or fuel oil, the demand is way up because these geothermal systems run at about 450- to 500-percent efficiency," says Brad Delaney, co-owner with Bill Schriver. "We're seeing energy bills that were about $4,000 a year on a 2,000-square-foot house, and we're dropping the bills to $1,500 to $1,600 per year."

Delaney says that the systems run at 42 degrees for air conditioning and blow heat at 92 degrees, compared to a standard furnace, which blows about 120 to 130 degrees. West Michigan Geothermal designs and installs both open loop systems which use well water, and closed-loop systems which use a glycol solution that loops through a system of underground pipes.

Source: Brad Delaney, West Michigan Geothermal and B & B Heating and Cooling; Suzette Garvey, Simply Genuine Communications
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor