posted Jun 29, 2008 - 10:18:11am
As it plows up earth to build a middle school and high school in Orange City, Volusia County Schools is also plowing into new technology for cooling those schools.
River Springs Middle School (Middle School DD) and High School DDD, both under construction on the west side of Orange City, will share a geothermal plant for air conditioning.
It's brand-new territory for Central Florida schools, according to Executive Director for Facilities Services Pat Drago.
Geothermal, literally, means earth (geo) heat (therm). In other parts of the country, naturally warm air from beneath the earth's surface is used to heat homes and water. Volusia County Schools will use the technology to cool schools.
Drago said water from the Floridan Aquifer, which is a constant 72 degrees, will be sucked up through pipes to the surface plant. Warm air will be pushed over pipes containing the cool water. The air and water will exchange heat, leaving the water warm, and the air cooled.
The Environmental Protection Agency rates geothermal energy to be among the cleanest renewable resources. It has almost no negative effect on the environment, and emits up to 99 percent fewer carbon emissions than heating or cooling powered by fossil fuel.
Geothermal heat pumps are ranked by the Energy Star Web site as "among the most efficient and comfortable heating and cooling technologies currently available."
Looking for green
That suits the School Board.
"We were looking for green technology. We were looking for sustainability," Drago said.
In addition to being green, geothermal cooling saves money.
The School Board expects to save as much as $3.6 million on cooling costs over the course of the life of the geothermal plant, about 20 years.
Drilling the wells and installing pumps for the geothermal plant will cost $1.75 million. The cost of the entire system isn't known, as installation isn't complete, Drago said.
After the air has been cooled, it will be piped through the schools, just like any cooled air. The water will be re-injected into the aquifer.
"There will be no loss in water," Drago said. "It's the same water. It's not taken and used; it's only used to have the air go over it."
The bottom line is big savings: almost 2 million kilowatts of power, each month, at the two schools.
"We're trying to see what we can do," Drago said. "It's a huge undertaking."
Construction of the high school is behind schedule, Drago explained, and it is not known when the school will be ready to open.
That means the geothermal chiller won't be ready when River Springs Middle opens this fall for the 2008-09 school year.
But the middle school will be air-conditioned. The School Board approved a $54,000 temporary chiller for use until the geothermal plant comes on-line.
The cost of the temporary chiller was built into the budget for building the school.
"We anticipated this cost," she said.
How many schools?
It's unknown how many new schools will be able to take advantage of geothermal cooling.
It works in Orange City because two schools being built together can share the high upfront costs, which are more than for standard heat-and-air systems.
Drago said the initial costs are too high for a single school, and geothermal probably isn't a good fit in older schools.
"I don't see this as a retrofit," she said.
Ryan Strandquest, vice president of Matern Professional Engineering, designed the geothermal system for River Springs Middle and High School DDD.
He said it was the first of this size he's designed. A smaller system was designed for a client in Ocala.
"Volusia County tasked us to look at the most energy-efficient systems in the state," Strandquest said.
During his research, Strandquest found a lot of geothermal technology used in the northern regions.
Of the options available to save money on heating and cooling, the location of the Orange City schools favored geothermal cooling.
Protecting the environment
Strandquest explained millions of gallons of chilly water are flowing below the site toward Blue Spring, minimizing the possibility of intrusion or leaching that might occur as a result of temporary withdrawals for the schools' cooling system.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey Web site, in the Floridan Aquifer, pressure from fresh water creates a seal against the salt water. Intrusion occurs where there is a vacuum. When fresh water is removed, salt or brackish water can move in to fill the space, causing contamination.
While coastal waterlines are more vulnerable to intrusion, all areas are vulnerable to leeching — which happens when ground contaminants seep into the water supply.
Test wells were drilled to make sure there are no sinkholes; Strandquest said the area can sustain the needed well without risking any form of contamination.
Matern exceeded EPA-permit guidelines while designing the system, just to make sure there was no contamination risk, he said, adding the system is "absolutely" safe.
"I think this is a green, sustainable idea," Strandquest said. "This is thinking outside the box."
'The time is now'
Tiffany Schroeder, owner of the DeLand-based Florida Green Guild, hailed the geothermal plan.
"The Volusia County School Board is being very forward-thinking by figuring out how to reduce their future energy consumption," Schroeder said. "Our conventional heating and cooling systems demand great amounts of energy, namely from fossil fuel sources. Since geothermal systems use groundwater temperatures to aid in the cooling of air-conditioned spaces, they reduce our reliance upon fossil fuels, which is the primary reason the technology was engineered in the first place."
Schroeder said other countries are ahead in their use of geothermal.
"Almost the entire country of Sweden began using geothermal 25 years ago because they needed to reduce their reliance upon foreign oil. We need to see more adoption of efficient technologies like these, especially in public buildings that are large and require serious amounts of fuel to operate." she said. "As we all are coming to understand, fuel prices are not deflating and will likely only continue to increase. The time for alternative energy sources and more efficient systems is now."
Vital cost-savings
(Read how the school board plans to save $500,000 by cutting out small appliances)
School Board Member Stan Schmidt was a member of the Volusia County Project Oversight Committee, which was devoted to saving money in school construction.
"We would sort of oversee construction, make sure the public was getting their money's worth," Schmidt said.
The experience followed him onto the School Board, he said, where he tries to make sure schools get the most bang for their bucks. Reducing energy use is a priority.
"I've always pushed for efficiency," he said.
With millions spent on electricity for schools, finding ways to lower the consumption and the costs is vital, he said.
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