Join the Hudson Environmental Awareness Committee to learn about the value of geothermal energy and how it is being used at Western Reserve Academy on Thursday, September 5 at 7:30 p.m. at Western Reserve Academy’s Seymour Hall, 115 College Street, Hudson.
The meeting, sponsored by the City’s Environmental Awareness Committee, is open to the public.
Jeremy Paul, Western Reserve Academy’s assistant director of facilities, will explain the geothermal heating and cooling systems which were installed on campus in 2018 in Seymour Hall, the main classroom building, and in the President’s House, which is the admissions building.
The system for Seymour Hall was installed in the open athletic field west of Darrow Road, and includes 63 bore-hole wells, each 505 feet deep.
Geothermal energy is the heat from the earth. The system taps into the earth for warmth or cold, using a loop system that circulates a water-based solution through pipe that transfers heat to or from a building.
It is similar to a heat pump but uses water and glycol instead of air. Water is about 90 times more efficient than air to heat and cool. Geothermal systems require less maintenance than traditional boiler systems and heat pumps.
Paul had estimated that it would take 12 years to cover the cost of the system but after the first winter and summer of use he thinks it will be six to eight years, which is more economical than solar energy.
Residents can learn how a geothermal system could be incorporated into large and small building projects.
