The goal of the project was to eliminate incidents of thermal retention occurring during summer months that could cause the air conditioning system to fail in the mission-critical facility.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognized the Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT) for boosting its use of clean energy at the first campus in America to be heated by geothermal energy, achieving a major milestone toward its goal of making all seven schools in the Oregon University System carbon-neutral by 2020.
While there are still barriers to the growth of geothermal, including high first cost and logistical challenges, experts believe these can be overcome through advancing technology and educational efforts.
The Geothermal Exchange Organization is continuing to concentrate its lobbying efforts on including geothermal in federal and state definitions of renewable energy.
The journey from a niche market to a highly respected market takes a lot of work. Geothermal contractors were doing just that as they discussed how to better market their industry when they gathered in Las Vegas for the 2013 International Ground Source Heat Pump Associations’ (IGSHPAs) technical conference and expo.
A follow-up to the Geothermal HVAC: Green Heating and Cooling undergraduate textbook is the graduate-level textbook Modern Geothermal HVAC: Engineering and Control Applications.
The day-long event included a variety of comprehensive, hands-on opportunities for participants to learn about and observe all aspects of a geothermal system — from equipment specification, to loop-field drilling and trenching, to system controls programming.