Mark Smith

Background

Mark grew up in the in the energy industry, first working in oil and gas before spending 2 years with Sound Geothermal as a GSHP design & installation technician as well as a drillers assistant. After serving ~4 years in the US Navy as a Hospital Corpsman Mark returned to Sound Geothermal. For the past 19 years Mark has been in charge of special projects for Sound Geothermal and is currently Vice President. Mark has worked in the GSHP industry since 2000 and has been involved in the design and implementation of over 45,000 tons of installed capacity in North America. Mark has been involved in a range of projects from HUD housing to mega homes, industrial facilities and University campuses to NASCAR facilities. Sound Geothermal is a design engineering firm, manufacturer’s representative, and distributor for ground source heat pump equipment and accessories. The company is active throughout the western United States and has projects in a total of 31 states. Mark has extensive training in system load evaluation, ground loop heat exchanger design, solar thermal systems, system hydraulics, heat pump operations, heat pump equipment selection and system troubleshooting. Mark is an AEE Certified GeoExchange Designer, IGSHPA Certified Geothermal inspector and IGSHPA Accredited Installer. Mark also holds a Utah General Contractor’s License, HVAC License & Boiler License.

Areas of Expertise

Applying a “Systems” approach to GHPC design is a key to making systems function economically, correctly and with a minimum carbon footprint. This requires complete integration of the Ground Loop Heat Exchanger(GLHE), mechanical piping, and controls. As an early adopter of this approach, we have been able to integrate systems from several HUD homes to University campuses. Mixed use applications in City‐scape and Campus environments provide ideal opportunity to bring together wasted energy collection and re‐use that energy (Energy HighwayTM); significantly increasing System Coefficient of Performance (SCOP). This approach not only increases efficiency or Least Energy PathTM) but also dramatically reduces greenhouse gas emission and water consumption.

• Assessments to determine economic and technical feasibility of GSHP systems for commercial GSHP projects
• Design and implementation of ground source heat pump systems and associated ground heat exchangers
• Large scale Distributed (District) Energy Systems
• Control and Sequence of Control review and optimization
• Forensic analysis of failed or poorly operating GSHP systems

Notable Projects & Achievements

• Colorado Mesa University, Grand Junction Colorado, Development of campus Ambient Temperature Loop (ATL) designed to serve ~4,700 tons, design of GLHE & distribution system for 18 buildings, ~1.5MM^ft and over 250,000 vertical feet of drilled GLHE.
• Uintah Basin Medical Center, Roosevelt Utah, ~250,000^ft six building hospital campus, extended care facility, doctor’s clinics, surgery, emergency – Add ATL design to interconnect existing buildings with main hospital and future buildings.
• Cashman Equipment Henderson Facility, Cashman Equipment, Las Vegas Nevada. ~ 500,000 ^ ft. (LEED & Hybrid) 900 tons. Multi Building Community Loop
• Weber State University, Ogden Utah, Campus incremental conversion from boiler/chiller plant to ATL utilizing existing CW piping.

Professional Affiliations

• International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA); Member, Certified Geothermal Inspector, Accredited Installer
• Association of Energy Engineers (AEE); Member, Certified GeoExchange Designer
• American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE); Member