OKLAHOMA CITY - Rubbing his hands to warm up in the blustery weather Thursday, House Speaker Chris Benge urged a 5 percent tax credit for homeowners and businesses that install geothermal heating pumps.

The Tulsa Republican made his proposal in front of a Habitat for Humanity-built home that features a geothermal unit. Vowing that he didn't stage the event to occur in the cold, Benge said the weather was appropriate for the topic nevertheless.

The home's owner, Kim Willison, said she had seen her utility bills cut by more than half. The single mother of two said she is trying to help support her daughter, who is in college, and hopes to be able to send her son, who is 15, to college, too.

Dan Ellis, president of ClimateMaster, an Oklahoma City marketer of the heat pumps, said a 5 percent state tax credit coupled with a new federal tax credit for geothermal unit installation could make it feasible for businesses and homeowners to install them.

Ellis said that in Oklahoma, the temperature of the Earth at a depth of 10 feet is 62 degrees. If that warmth was piped into a home or business, a structure would need only a small amount of energy from a conventional heating source to reach an ideal temperature of 72 degrees.

"In the summertime, we take the heat you want to get rid of. Instead of trying to push it into the outdoor air, which may be 100 degrees, it is a lot easier to make the heat flow downhill, so to speak," Ellis said.

Benge said that although gasoline prices have dropped dramatically over the past few months, Oklahoma and the U.S. need to move forward with an energy plan.

"History tells us that whenever gasoline prices drop, the OPEC nations begin to capture more of the market globally," he said.

When prices go up again, the U.S. will be too dependent on the Mideast unless alternative energy sources have been found at home, he said.

Jeff Vanhoose, a commercial general contractor, said the downside of geothermal units is that they cost 50 percent more to install.

Vanhoose estimated that the federal tax credit would mean that in five to seven years, a company could recoup the cost of installing a thermal unit. With an additional 5 percent from the state, the project would become more feasible.

Mick Hinton (405) 528-2465
mick.hinton@tulsaworld.com

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