Background

Garen grew up in the water well and oil and gas drilling industries. Garen’s motto is “keep turning to the right”. Garen has worked in the GSHP industry since 1979 and has been involved in the design and implementation of well over 100,000 MW (millions of feet) of installed heat pump equivalent capacity in North America. Garen was a contributor to several training courses to include the Certified GeoExchange Designer Course and Syllabus that has been adopted by the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA) and the Association of Energy Engineers. Garen is a member of the Technical Committee to develop the Bi-National CSA/ANSI C448 Standard for the Design and Installation of Ground Source Heat Pumps for Commercial and Residential Buildings. Garen is a founding member of the GreyEdge Group.

Areas of Expertise

Garen developed the in situ thermal conductivity testing methodology used by the GSHP industry to size and design ground heat exchangers (GHEX). Garen is co-owner of the patented Advanced Thermal Conductivity Method (ACTM) that shortens the testing duration and quantifies the diffusivity. Garen has installed GHEXs throughout the U.S. and consulted throughout the world on GHEXs. Garen has been a primary investigator/ collaborator on numerous applied research projects on the GHEX, borehole resistance and thermal storage, Garen has peer reviewed several software applications to size and design the GHEX. Garen trains for IGSHPA in all courses domestically and internationally.

Garen is managing member of Ewbank Geo Testing, LLC, member of GeoAire International and at large managing member for The GreyEdge Group, LLC.

Notable Projects & Achievements

• Pioneered in situ thermal conductivity testing for the ground source heat pump industry in 1994 and the ACTM in 2016.
• Developed re-circulating stiff foam drilling methods for lost circulation zones
• Researched ground, grout and piping heat transfer
• Consulted with state regulators and state drilling associations on GHEX regulations in many states
• Co-authored papers for ASHRAE on earth thermal properties, boreholes resistance and piping configurations
• Holds patent pending on heat pumps and domestic and international design software; awarded several patents on drilling rigs and water pumping systems
• Awarded the grade of Fellow and received the Legends in Energy award with the Association of Energy Engineers
• Garen has trained thousands individuals for IGHSPA in all courses
• Garen is a member of the Strategic Advisory Council for the College of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology (CEAT) at Oklahoma State University
• Garen has served on numerous civic, communities, and financial boards as member and chair

Professional Affiliations and Publications

• Member – International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA); Past-President of the Board of Directors; have made numerous presentations at IGSHPA Conferences
• Life Member – Association of Energy Engineers (AEE); Member – Oklahoma Chapter of the Association of Energy Engineers, served as President of the Board of Directors and continues as a Board of Directors member (AEEOK); have made numerous presentations nationally, at states and chapters at AEE Conferences
• Established the “Roger Farrar” Annual Energy Conference for the Oklahoma Chapter of the Association of Energy Engineers
• Member - American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE): Garen has made numerous presentations at ASHRAE Chapter Meetings
• Oklahoma Water Resources Board - Licensed to drill in Oklahoma, trainer and presenter for continuing education credits