We live just a few blocks away from the local high school, which has had some sort of massive construction project going on for a few months now. I've been wondering what created the giant pile of dirt to one side of the grounds, but haven't been bothered enough to actually, you know, look it up to find out.
We got a newsletter thing this week that gets sent out to all the homes in the district, though, and the lead story (which I can't find online) is all about the construction project, which includes for the high school:
Replace the building's inefficient and ineffective heating system with a high efficiency geothermal system
I wouldn't've thought there would be enough of a thermal gradient to do anything geothermal around here, but they're not using it for electricity, just heating and cooling. A little poking around turns up this handy FAQ site explaining the system (it was part of the campaign to get local residents to approve the bond for the construction, so it has a particular slant, but the basic facts are there). The giant pile of dirt was cleared off the athletic fields prior to drilling the wells for the geothermal system, and will be put back after the wells are finished.
So, good for the Niskayuna school system.
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We have a local company that installs heat pumps, in an area where the average annual temperature is about 3C (37F), and there are others doing it in Winnipeg. If it will work there, it will certainly work in New York. I gather that it is quite expensive but it then has a drastic effect on fuel bills. We would probably have installed it in our own house, but the company never responded - perhaps they are too busy?
It's a ground source heat pump. Have 'em at work for a few buildings.
It's a start. I went to Niskayuna high, way back when, and it was designed like it was going to be built in California. Freezeways and courtyards. Not energy efficient at all.
(I'm here now. Froze myself geocaching at/around Blatnick park today)
Is it really geothermal, not groundwater heat pump. The former would be deep wells to mine the heat in the earth. The later uses summer AC load to heat nearsurface groundwater, then during the heating season uses a heat pump to extract heat from the groundwater. If you only use it for heating, and not also AC, I would think after a few years the groundwater would be frozen.
Hot Geothermal like in Nevada comes from around 2000 + feet in the earth and is located near the volcanic ring of fire. Here in New York we use the same energy source which is the earths core, but it is a constant 52 degree geothermal instead of the 300 degree geothermal found out in Nevada and California. The great thing about geothermal is that it allows very efficient heat pump design, since the heat pump works in a very controlled underground environment. The heat pump extracts heat from the 52 degree ground. The heat is replaced by the natural heat from the earths core, so the energy is unlimited for about another 4 billion years. As technology improves we are more efficiently removing that heat and keeping the electricity usage down on the heat pump cost. This is why a 2500 sq ft house only cost $150 a month in January to heat with the geothermal heat pump design. We provide geothermal drilling and services in the Schenectady and Saratoga region of New York under the name Cekor and Cernik Well drilling, which is close to the Niskayuna School District. If you have any questions on this topic I would be happy to help your answer them.