How does geothermal heating and cooling work, and where is it going to be used?
Geothermal heating and cooling is planned for the alumni and development center and for the new science building at the north end of Colby Green. Three geothermal wells for the alumni and development building system were drilled in October 2003. They are six inches in diameter and 1,500 feet deep. The water temperature 1,500 feet underground stays consistently in the mid to upper 50s (F). When that water is pumped up into the building in the summer it is cool compared to ambient air temperatures and is used to cool the building; in winter it’s relatively warm and a heat-pump system warms liquid used in the building’s heating and cooling systems.
