Geothermal Heating and Cooling: Technology and Applications
DISCLAIMER
Before purchasing, review the rules of your licensing or certifying entity. It is your responsibility to confirm this course meets your CE requirements. See the credit tab on the course page for details.
What’s Included: Full webinar recording, written course materials, expert instruction, a mandatory quiz, and a certificate upon completion.
Deliverability Timeline: All courses are generally available within 1-2 weeks after the live presentation.
CE Credits: AIA and/or LA/CES accreditation is available by request for courses recorded prior to March 11, 2026. All courses after that date include those accreditations by default, if applicable. With these accreditations, our courses qualify for credit in nearly all states for engineers, surveyors, architects, and landscape architects.
Learn more about the on-demand format in our FAQ or contact us at (715) 835-5900 or customerservice@halfmoonseminars.org
Agenda
Registration 8:00 – 8:30 am
Morning Session 8:30 am – 12:15 pm
Lunch (On your own) 12:15 – 1:15 pm
Afternoon Session 1:15 – 4:30 pm
Geothermal Heat Pumps and Indoor Thermal Comfort
Understanding the refrigeration cycle
The effect of air flow and insulation
How comfort is measured
Understanding efficiency
Understanding Earth Loop Systems
Architecture of closed loop systems
• Horizontal ground loops
• Vertical ground loops
Applications for open loop systems
• Single well
• Two-well systems
Evaluating topography
Measuring soil conductivity
Environments for ground-loop systems: beneath yards, fields, parking lots, and buildings
Designing Geothermal Systems
Determining loop type
Making heat loss calculations
Sizing the unit
Sizing the loop
Alternate geothermal designs
Choosing System Components
Basic components of geothermal heat pump systems: pump, compressor, heat exchanger
Forced air systems
Hydronic systems
Domestic hot water options
Evaluating the Benefits of Geothermal Systems
Incentives to use geothermal
Measuring performance
Calculating savings and cost
Environmental benefits
Tax credits, incentives and rebates
Geothermal Case Studies
Credits
Architects
6.5 HSW Contact Hours
6.5 AIA HSW Learning Units
Professional Engineers
6.5 PDHs
Building Performance Institute
3.25 CEUs
Contractors
Non-Mandatory Cont. Ed.
This seminar is open to the public and offers up to 6.5 HSW continuing education hours to architects and 6.5 PDHs to professional engineers in all states. Educators and courses arenot subject to pre-approval in Michigan.
This program has been approved by the American Institute of Architects for 6.5 HSW Learning Units (Provider No. J885) and the Building Performance Institute for 3.25 CEUs. Courses approved by the AIA qualify for Indiana architects.
HalfMoon Education is an approved continuing education sponsor for architects in Florida and is deemed an approved sponsor for architects and landscape architects in New York. HalfMoon Education is an approved continuing education sponsor for engineers in Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York (NYSED Sponsor No. 35), North Carolina, and North Dakota.
This course offers a continuing education opportunity to contractors, but it has not been approved by any state contractor licensing entity.
Attendance will be monitored, and attendance certificates will be available after the seminar for most individuals who complete the entire event. Attendance certificates not available at the seminar will be mailed to participants within fifteen business days.
Speakers
Don Steeby
Professor of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration at Grand Rapids Community CollegeMr. Steeby is a professor of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration at Grand Rapids Community College. He has taught full time with GRCC since 2007. Mr. Steeby has also taught as an adjunct professor for Ferris State University in Construction Management. He received his bachelor of science degree in HVAC/R Applied Technology from Ferris State University, and his master’s degree in Career and Technical Education also from Ferris State University.
Mr. Steeby has worked in the HVAC field since 1985. He has held positions in many areas of the industry including installation, service, sales, and project management. Mr. Steeby has worked for a local manufacturer of HVAC equipment for over five years, and he was employed by Honeywell for 11 years.
He holds a mechanical contractor’s license with the State of Michigan, and he has several nationally-recognized certifications including installation and service of geothermal equipment with North American Technician Excellence (NATE). Mr. Steeby is also a certified trainer and installer of geothermal heat pumps through the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA). He has been actively involved in the geothermal industry for many years including writing software to size loop links and working on several commercial geothermal installations. In 2011, he published his book Alternative Energy – Sources and Systems through Cengage Learning which includes chapters on geothermal systems.