ProFeaseTM

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Using the earth as a huge and rechargeable thermal battery, ground-source heat pumps (GSHPs) are one of the most efficient heating and cooling options available today. But too often, decision makers eliminate this alternative early in the building design process because of invalid assumptions. Using precalculated data sets and years of collective professional GSHP design experience, ProFeaseTM allows stakeholders to properly compare GSHP against conventional HVAC systems at a small fraction of the time and cost of a customized comprehensive feasibility study.

ProFeaseTM is a fully featured feasibility tool that provides professionals with fast, high quality, and defensible GSHP or ASHP system savings and performance estimates. These estimates enable clients to determine if moving forward with a GSHP/ASHP mechanical system is practical and feasible, without spending $10,000 or more for a detailed feasibility study, mechanical viability comparison, life cycle cost analysis, or other intense, expensive vetting assessment.

Who uses ProFeaseTM?

Anyone who needs to provide others with the merits of ground- or air-source heat pump systems will benefit from ProFeaseTM. Ideally, these are repeat users who need it often for their work. They apply it early in the process of considering a new construction project because a lot of the ensuing design decisions depend on this choice. That means that the ideal users of ProFeaseTM are architects or mechanical engineering firms who are in communication with the building owners at the earliest stages of the design process. It could be a government employee assigned to take care of multiple new construction projects. Sometimes it's sales representatives, like for utilities who are pushing for more beneficial electrification and/or need to reduce their company's peak demand usage, or for suppliers that need to encourage people to buy or install more heat pump equipment. It may even be an owner or an owner's representative who may prefer renewables but feels they aren't getting the complete story from the companies they hire for their project. Essentially, it's a great tool for anyone who needs to pull out the big guns to convince others to seriously consider renewable energy for heating and cooling.

How ProFeaseTM Works

To use ProFeaseTM, the user initiates a new project, selects the geographic location and building type, and enters the square footage of the conditioned space. At this stage, they can also select the particular type of conventional system to which they'd like to compare. ProFeaseTM generates an hourly building simulation energy model for the project. When the project dashboard first opens, the user has the option to select from a variety of energy efficiency measures, such as low E glass and energy recovery ventilators. This selection updates the hourly building simulation energy model for the project.

Ensure System

ProfeaseTM Project Dashboard


For GSHP systems, the user can quickly input a few generalized key variables related to the loop field (approximate soil thermal conductivity, available land area, etc.), then simulate the loop field performance based on the precalculated hourly energy model. Upon completion of the simulation, the user reviews results that include the complete projected economic and energy costs as well as the expected carbon dioxide emissions reductions. The user completes the feasibility assessment by printing out a customizeable professional color PDF report to share with the client.

Economic and Carbon Analyses

With engineering, it’s all about the money: what it will cost versus what it will save. But recently it's also all about the CO2. The ProFeaseTM automated economic analysis integrates costs (hardware, GHX, selected enhanced energy efficiency technologies, heating and cooling operational costs, etc.) as well as incentives (federal, state and utility, etc.) and CO2 emissions. Based on these results, ProFeaseTM automatically determines ROI, NPV, simple payback, and CO2 emissions reductions, the four industry-standard analysis tools desired for feasibility studies.

Customized Reports

ProFease Report

ProFeaseTM Report

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ProFeaseTM automatically generates comprehensive professional reports that the user can share immediately with clients. In addition to being able to add their own customized logos and websites to the reports, users can input their own customized text introductions and conclusions. Additionally, users can specify the financial modeling time periods for the reports as well as the various economic analysis inputs such as the discount rate and fuel inflation rates.

Building Types and Locations

With ProFeaseTM, users have access to thousands of hourly energy models for common building types across North America and a growing list of other countries. New energy models and building types are added regularly to our comprehensive and growing database. This database allows designers to quickly and accurately determine the feasibility of a geothermal project for a wide range of building types and geographic locations. Contact us if you would like us to add particular hourly energy models for your project.

GHX Optimization

ProFeaseTM uses an advanced ground heat exchanger (GHX) simulation engine that is an industry-standard in the commercial geothermal HVAC engineering community. Users can input critical design variables such as thermal conductivity, bore field geometry, borehole depth, borehole spacing, available area and heat pump efficiency and then the simulation engine calculates the loopfield design and fluid temperatures that the ground heat exchanger can produce based on the customized GHX. ProFeaseTM of course also calculates system installation costs. Users have the option of iterating to optimize the loop field automatically or manually.

GeoMavens

Note that profease is not a loopfield engineering design tool. ProFeaseTM results are invaluable for feasibility-level assessments but should not be used for full/final loopfield designs.

ProFeaseTM also provides users with curated access to the most experienced and qualified geothermal system designers in the world for more detailed and customized feasibility studies, system designs, installations and controls optimization.

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