GREEN MAP
Eco-Design: Green Building
- Funding and grant sources
Although the initial price of the geothermal system was high, accounting for about $250,000 of CMU's $5-million construction cost, it will pay for itself within seven or eight years. The geothermal installation earned the university $27,000 in Power Smart incentives from Manitoba Hydro. A further grant is expected from the federal government. The use of Power Smart technologies is expected to save the university over $23,000 a year in operating costs.
To make geothermal technologies more accessible to consumers Manitoba Hydro offers homeowners Residential Earth Power Loans to offset the costs of installing a geothermal heat pump versus a conventional heating and cooling system. The monthly savings provided by the heat pump help offset your monthly loan payments, making geothermal heating a long-term economical benefit.
Loans of up to $15,000 can be provided to homeowners, with a maximum term of 15 years at a fixed interest rate of 6.5 per cent. To qualify for a Residential Earth Power Loan you must be:
* A customer of Manitoba Hydro, and
* Approved for credit from Manitoba Hydro, and
* Owner of the home where the heat pump will be installed.
Manitoba Hydro also offers incentives for eligible businesses looking to install geothermal heating systems under two categories: feasibility study assistance, and installation incentives. Manitoba Hydro may pay up to half of the cost of a feasibility study up to a maximum of $10,000. The study will determine the economic feasibility and benefit of a heat pump system for a building and confirm whether a geothermal heat pump is the right choice. The amount of the grant will be limited to 20 per cent of the potential product installation incentive available. Installation incentives are based on the projected energy savings calculated in the feasibility study amounting to $135 per winter kW saved, $50 per summer kW saved, and $0.04 per kWh saved in the first year.
Eligible for funding assistance for businesses is dependant on being able to display predictable and sustainable electrical savings in at least one of the following categories:
- Reduction of Manitoba Hydro's Winter System Peak: Calculated as the average kW load of equipment over the peak hours at winter design temperatures occurring in the months of December, January or February.
- Reduction of Manitoba Hydro's Summer System Peak: Calculated as the average kW load of equipment during the peak hours at summer design temperatures occurring during the month of June, July or August.
- Reduction in annual electrical energy consumption