Alternative Energy Solutions

The question was posed at the UUFF Annual meeting about geothermal heating/cooling, solar and alternative energy solutions for our new building. Many of us have been following with much interest the developments of solar, wind, geothermal and algae biodiesel (my personal favorite) solutions these days. Much government stimulus money is being poured into these industries, as they are not at the level of competing with current established systems for cost of installation, and pay back times have been too long for most consumers. I know that over the past several years, many folks in our Fellowship have looked into geothermal as a heating/air conditioning system for our new building. Being from the Midwest, I always have to say, ”Show me the numbers!” So, I checked into it. I figured since we have a bit smaller building now, perhaps it would be more affordable. Well, maybe somewhat. Here is what I found.

Putting HVAC systems into large buildings such as a church is not quite as ‘easy’ as putting it into a home. It does not scale with square footage, it scales with the heat loads, or tons of the HVAC system. Compare a 3000 sq ft home with a 4 ton load with a 7500 sq ft church with a 25 ton load. This is what you use to determine the size of field for the geothermal, or the number of wells that you have to dig. It’s all just a big heat transfer problem. So, with our size building (about 7500 sq ft) we would need a 300’x300’ field – about the size of a football field. We all looked at the site plan, and could not find an area large enough to put in this kind of field, even if you put it under the parking lot, which leaves you with risks (costs!) of replacing the parking lot if you have any leaks, which tend to happen on occasion. So, the next option is digging wells (if you can get someone willing to do it for you, since this type of digging pays only half of other types of drilling.) I think the number was about 8 wells, at a cost of about $43k at current rates. Either type (field or wells) would cost an extra $30k for the pumps and pipes to move the liquid around.

So, it all comes down to money. Doesn’t it always? If we can afford an additional $75k to install this system, we certainly will, as it is keeping with our values of ‘walking lightly on the earth’ (using less energy!) Our biggest savings will be in creating an efficient building that is well insulated and a ‘tight envelope’ for energy purposes. Right now we aren’t even completely sure if we can afford our current design, but we will be working on this soon. Oh, and yes, there are currently tax credits for installations of such systems, but it doesn't help much for a church that doesn't file much in the way of taxes.

Stay tuned. We should have more information on construction plans in a few weeks!

For an interesting comparison, check out the VDOT Welcome Center in Winchester, which has geothermal installation. Note that it is a $6M 15,000sq ft building.

http://www.harveyhottel.com/resources/wincheste

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