ShareUSA's largest ground-source heat pump
The conversion of Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, to a geothermal ground-source heat pump, reportedly the largest project of its kind in the USA, has entered its second and final phase.
The conversion of Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, to a geothermal ground-source heat pump, reportedly the largest project of its kind in the USA, has entered its second and final phase.
In 2009, coal boilers were replaced and the heat-pump system started providing heating and cooling to almost half the campus, as part of the first phase, dedicated in March 2012. The second phase consists in installing a vertical, closed-loop district system using only fresh water. It will include a district energy station containing two 8800 kW heat-pump chillers and a hot water loop around the south portion of the campus. Around 3600 boreholes are to be drilled around the campus.
The system will connect to all 47 buildings on campus, spanning 511 000 m², and should be completed in 2014, cutting the University’s carbon footprint by half, thanks to the shift to a renewable energy source, while saving USD 2 million annually in operating costs. The project is claimed to provide several hundred contractors and suppliers with employment and an opportunity for an estimated 2300 direct and indirect jobs. A recent US Department of Energy study suggests that aggressive deployment of geothermal technology could save as much as USD 38 billion by 2030.