Geothermal: New York School Uses Closed-Loop System for Housing Complex

BROCKPORT, N.Y. — In a climate of rising energy costs and growing interest in environmentally sustainable campus design, officials at the State University of New York at Brockport turned to sustainable technology and geothermal ground-source pumps to support the heating and cooling needs at the college’s recently completed 208-bed student housing complex.

“Increasingly, prospective students evaluate commitment to environmental stewardship when choosing a school, and we know that it simply makes good sense to create sustainable campuses,” says Tom Dreyer, P.E., Brockport’s assistant vice president for facilities and planning. “The price of conventional energy is not about to go down, so we’re taking a long-term perspective.”

SUNY’s $18 million town house project utilizes closed-loop geothermal heat-pump systems in each of the 52 units. Each unit’s geothermal HVAC system incorporates a pair of 200-foot wells that facilitate the geothermal heat-exchange process.

“Geothermal has been around for a long time, but it has come a long way in terms of the technology and its efficiency, bringing down the costs considerably,” Dreyer says.

Geothermal systems take advantage of the stable temperature that exists just several hundred feet below the earth’s surface, leveraging it — through the natural tendency of heat to flow along a temperature gradient from cool to warm — to provide energy for heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. The systems have a proven track record of reducing both the energy consumption, operating costs and the carbon footprint of the building, according to the Department of Energy.

After working with designer Joe Lindstrom, of Buffalo-based IBC Engineering, on several private-sector projects in the past, Gary Morog, R.A, Brockport’s residential capital projects coordinator, was eager to incorporate geothermal systems when he first became aware of the town house project.

(Above)  The 208-bed student town house complex utilizes closed-loop geothermal heat-pump systems. (Below)  Wells that are 200-feet deep allow the facility to transfer heat and cool air from the earth.

“We were focused on ease of maintenance and operations, and with energy efficiency and costs, and the process has worked out really well,” Morog says.

The system went online last summer and officials are set to scrutinize the its performance during the seasonal changeover to cold-weather operation.

“The design and installation went smoothly and the system has tested out great in operation,” Morog says. “A winter in upstate New York will be the final and biggest test of all, but we’re all pretty confident.”

The design team used the LEED Silver scorecard throughout the process, and the geothermal system was instrumental in the award of $66,000 in grants from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

“Our initial goal was to gain LEED certification, but we haven’t yet filed for certification,” Dreyer says.

The town house complex is anchored by a central courtyard and recreation center and the fully-furnished town house units feature separate entrances and vestibules, wall-to-wall carpeting, living-room and dining areas, two full bathrooms, washer and dryer, wireless Internet access and cable. Kitchens feature solid-surface countertops with locally crafted cabinetry.

Units are equipped with Energy Star appliances, energy-efficient lighting fixtures, oversized windows, Roxul basaltic-rock insulation, and EcoStar recycled roof tiles. The complex also incorporates small ponds adjacent to the parking lot to manage ground and storm water runoff.

“We wanted this project to be the gold standard to which every other college would look,” Dreyer says.

Focusing on long-run operational and maintenance costs, Dreyer and his team considered three HVAC system options before making a final decision for the town house project.

The design team considered incorporating a gas-fired furnace with direct expansion cooling coil and remote condensing unit, which had an upfront installation cost of approximately $9 per square foot. A gas-fired hot water boiler, electric split system and ducted A/C unit with remote condensing unit, which was estimated to have an upfront installation cost of approximately $16 per square foot, was also considered.

“Geothermal systems have fewer moving parts and equipment, but it certainly wasn’t the cheapest option in terms of upfront costs,” Dreyer says.

Estimates for the geothermal closed-loop, ground-source, heat-pump system were approximately $15 per square foot. The geothermal HVAC system for each 4-unit town house, which houses up to 16 students, cost more than $97,000.

Manufactured by Water Furnace International of Indiana, the GHP systems, which are housed in separate mechanical rooms, are designed to allow town house units to share heating and air conditioning during maintenance or repairs.

“Instead of major HVAC units coupled with extensive distribution systems, we sought highly energy-efficient, home-owner sized solutions,” Dreyer says.

While the geothermal system allows town house residents individual control over the unit’s heating and cooling, Dreyer and his team implemented a campuswide energy management system that allows staff to monitor and control the geothermal system centrally.

“Going with an off-the-shelf geothermal system was part of our strategy from the outset,” Dreyer says. “The only question was where to put the wells,” he says.

Early in the design phase, the project team decided to use vertical bored-wells rather than the original horizontal wells in order to minimize impact to the complex site. The revised closed-loop system design called for a single 400-foot well to serve each unit.

The incorporation of geothermal technology also presented problems in terms of identifying available contractors with the requisite experience for such a project, forcing Dreyer to look all the way to Oklahoma .

“There are not a lot of experienced contractors around, so we had to plan carefully so as not to affect the construction timeline,” Dreyer says.

And the Oklahomans’ experience was fully tested during the drilling phase as the team reached about 200 feet of what was to be a 400-foot bore.

“They hit some pockets of natural gas and flames started shooting up around the rig,” Dreyer says.

Despite the drama, the new town house complex is not the only geothermal installation at SUNY Brockport, nor is it likely to be the last given the operational, economic and environmental benefits of the technology.

“Campus greening is becoming a guiding force in planning for our college facilities,” Dreyer says.

A small building housing the campus welcome center was recently retrofitted with a standalone, single-well geothermal installation and college officials are also considering incorporating a geothermal system as part of Brockport’s new $40 million athletics, recreation and events center.

The geothermal installation would function as a supplemental system for the 160,000-square-foot House-of-Fields development, which will sit adjacent to the existing ice rink facility and consist of multiple athletic venues connected to three floors of recreation, special events and concession space.

“We are already 30 percent into the design phase and while the geothermal component is not locked in at this point, it is definitely in the mix as a concrete proposal,” Dreyer says.

In terms of costs and ease of installation, incorporating geothermal into new construction projects, such as the athletic center or town house complex, represents a more attractive prospect for Dreyer and his team.

“Installing geothermal systems during retrofit projects, which we do a lot of here at Brockport, is a much more difficult task than when you can start a project from the ground up,” Dreyer says.

That, as they say, is the rub of the green.