A geothermal heating and cooling system located in Shineman Center is one of the biggest in New York state and is just the beginning of renewable energy sources at Oswego State.
A geothermal heating and cooling system is a ground-source heat pump. It transfers energy from underground and uses it to heat and cool buildings and homes. For the one located in Shineman Center, the source of energy from the earth is underneath the parking lot. The grand opening of this system was in 2013 and has created a lot of talk for more energy sources like this.
On Sept. 25, there were two events to show the residents of Oswego how this system works. Oswego State partnered with a few organizations such as Heat Smart CNY and a speaker, Jay Egg, president of Egg Geothermal.
Egg spoke at the first part of the event about what a geothermal system is. He then attended the second part where Oswego State gave a tour of the system itself. Egg is known to be an expert on geothermal technologies and has written two books on the topic.
“I started in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear power engineer. After, I knew I wanted to work on air conditioning without burning fossil fuels … used my experience with heat transfer to enter the field,” Egg said.
Egg has traveled around central New York to speak on the subject of geothermal heating, and Oswego was one of his stops. He wants to educate people on this source of renewable energy which is also one of Oswego’s goals by holding this event.
The second part of the event was a tour of the system itself. Rich Owen, the HVAC supervisor, led this tour. Owen explained that it is 55 degrees underground at all times and by using this system, they use pumps to heat or cool that air for the building.
Although it might sound complicated, geothermal technology is not difficult to understand and maintain. With the one in Shineman Center being one of the largest in the state, they only need two people to help with the maintenance of it, according to the Associate Director of Engineering, Timothy O’Hara.
O’Hara said that one can track the efficiency and how the system works all through a computer. The only time where it needs maintenance is when there are technical issues with it or the need for cleaning and replacing pumps.
“You want it to be a balanced cycle, use it for so much heating, use it for so much cooling,” O’Hara said.
So far, Shineman Center is the only building with this many sources for renewable energy. It has this geothermal system as well as solar panels. However, the campus is working on renovating more buildings with many new plans.
Hewitt Hall is the next step in the college’s renovation plan. They have already begun renovations for it. They worked on the bookstore and created a new counseling office. They are working on other cosmetic renovations at Hewitt Hall, but they are also making the energy more environmentally friendly.
“Hewitt will have more sustainable technology, geothermal being the basis,” O’Hara said.
Oswego State is working on a much larger plan to make the whole campus more sustainable, and these geothermal systems are just the initial measures.
O’Hara said that one can track the efficiency and how the system works all through a computer. The only time where it needs maintenance is when there are technical issues with it or the need for cleaning and replacing pumps.
“You want it to be a balanced cycle, use it for so much heating, use it for so much cooling,” O’Hara said.
So far, Shineman Center is the only building with this many sources for renewable energy. It has this geothermal system as well as solar panels. However, the campus is working on renovating more buildings with many new plans.
Hewitt Hall is the next step in the college’s renovation plan. They have already begun renovations for it. They worked on the bookstore and created a new counseling office. They are working on other cosmetic renovations at Hewitt Hall, but they are also making the energy more environmentally friendly.
“Hewitt will have more sustainable technology, geothermal being the basis,” O’Hara said.
Oswego State is working on a much larger plan to make the whole campus more sustainable, and these geothermal systems are just the initial measures.
File Photo from 2013
