Geothermal Systems – the next frontier of energy conservation

By TOM KANE

LOCH SHELDRAKE, NY — Imagine a heating and cooling system for your home or business that would keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter and cut your utility bills by 25 to 50 percent, without burning any fossil fuels and, in so doing, help save Planet Earth, all at the same time.

Is this a dream that will occur sometime in mid century if everything goes as planned?

Not at all. There are 750,000 geothermal installations in place today, one of them right here in Sullivan County.

It’s at the Sullivan County Community College, and it’s been in operation since 2001.

EPA endorsement

“Geoexchange (also called geothermal) heating and cooling systems are the most energy-efficient, environmentally clean and cost-effective space conditioning systems available. Thus, spoke the agency in its publication, ”Space Conditioning: The Next Frontier. Office of Air and Radiation.”

The EPA found that geoexchange systems can reduce energy consumption—and corresponding carbon emissions—by 40 percent compared to air source heat pumps and by over 70 percent when combined with energy-efficiency measures, such as window or insulation upgrades..

Geo systems are an average of 48 percent more efficient than the best gas furnaces on a source fuel basis and over 75 percent more efficient than an oil furnace. In fact, today’s best geo systems outperform the best gas technology, gas heat pumps, by an overage of 36 percent in heating mode and 43 percent in cooling mode.

How it works

In winter, warmth is drawn from the earth through a series of pipes, called loops, installed beneath the ground. A liquid solution circulating through these piping loops carries the earth’s natural warmth to a heat pump inside the building. The heat pump concentrates the earth’s thermal energy and transfers it to air circulated through the interior ductwork to fill every space in the building.

In the summer, the process is reversed. Heat is extracted from air inside the building and transferred to the biggest “heat sink” of all—Mother Earth—by way of the ground loop piping.

“For the layman who doesn’t understand refrigeration and such systems, understanding how geothermal works is difficult,” said Brian Pine, director of buildings and grounds at the college.

College’s geothermal system

“We were forced to look at alternative methods of heating and cooling our buildings when our bills became more and more exorbitant,” said Dr. Mamie Howard-Golladay, president of Sullivan County Community College.

The college’s seven building were heated with electricity and only a third of the building had air-conditioning.

“We were going through the first phase of a renovation, installing new windows and doors, and our former director of buildings and grounds, Wayne Lovett, did considerable research into the cost-effectiveness of a geothermal system,” Golladay said. “When we realized the savings, we presented the research to our board and got their support,” she said. “By early computations, it was estimated that we would save about $175, 000 a year on energy costs. And when new windows and doors were installed, the saving per year would be close to $300,000.”

With this much savings, the system will pay for itself in time, she said.

However, the system is expensive to build.

“The entire system cost $5 million—including the well-field, the pumps, the equipment, the installation and the architectural and engineering work,” she said.

The New York State Dormitory Authority paid for 50 percent and the Sullivan County Legislature paid for the other 50 percent, she said.

“We received a $250,000 grant from NYSERDA [New York State Energy and Research Development Authority], which was a part of the county’s contribution,” Golladay said.

How was it constructed?

“In 1999, a company named General Mechanics Construction from Latham, NY did some test bores and found our site was excellent for a geothermal system,” said George Amaral, building maintenance supervisor at the college. “In a large well-field behind the auditorium building, General Mechanics drilled 200 holes that went down 400 feet. Two-way pipes that formed a loop were inserted down each hole and were connected to a main pump. The liquid inside is a solution that can be compared to anti-freeze.”

The liquid reaches a temperature of around 50 degrees, which is the temperature of the earth. Through a system of pumps that is similar to the way a refrigerator works, the liquid is cooled or heated depending on the season of the year and the need for heat or coolant, Amaral said.

Half of the buildings were put on the system the first year and the remainder in the second year, Amaral said.

“Using the old system, we could only afford air-conditioning in two buildings,” he said. “Now, with the geothermal system, it’s economically feasible to have all the building air-conditioned.”

The system was completed in 2001. Since then, there hasn’t been one leak or pumping problem, he said.

The only buildings not on the system as yet are the field house and the science building.

“All the wells and pipes are in place but not the pumps,” he said. “It will be relatively easy to hook up the field house and science building when funds are available.”

The college dormitory building has its own system that is totally independent of the main system, Amaral said.

“This system can be extremely economical as long as you have a good scheduling system and refine it as you get deeper into the process,” Pine said. “The computer system we have for controlling the system is from the Pasco Company and in my view is the best of the lot. The computer system is so well designed that I can control it from my home by means of a laptop.”

“The decision we made to adopt the geothermal systems, we were convinced, would have a very, very long term benefit,” Golladay said.

This is the fourth and last article in a series on energy conservation systems.