There is an increasing awareness — among consumers and governments alike — that climate change and greenhouse gas emissions have a severely harmful impact on the environment. Therefore, the demand for renewable energy sources and energy saving products, such as geothermal heat pumps, is also rising. In fact, the global geothermal heat pump market, valued at $9.4 billion in 2019, is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.2% from 2020 to 2027, according to a report by Grand View Research. The commercial application segment is anticipated to witness the fastest CAGR of 7.4% over the forecast period.
“The awareness regarding climate change and the need to improve the energy efficiency of HVAC systems is definitely driving the geothermal market,” notes David Lopes, commercial sales director — North America, Bosch Thermotechnology. “I’d say the market has been relatively flat over the past three years. Currently, we see New York state has the most attractive incentives to specifically drive commercial geothermal applications. However, Texas has also been a strong market taking advantage of the geothermal component. Over the past few years, incentives have historically been a large driver for geothermal, but that is mostly on the residential side. On the commercial side, it has to do with the question of feasibility. You need a significant amount of land available for the ground loop. We’ve seen a lot of success in the education market with schools and universities because there is usually a significant amount of space to use to drill wells.”