With tuition rates soaring, U.S. universities and colleges have an opportunity to cap their heating and cooling costs by looking to the earth beneath their feet.
That's according to a new report from the National Wildlife Federation, called "Going Underground on Campus: Tapping the Earth for Clean, Efficient Heating and Cooling." The analysis -- which considers 160 educational institutions that have invested in geothermal technologies, finds that these campuses are helping cut energy costs by 30 percent to 70 percent through a combination of the following:
The report further estimates that if all of the nation's 4,100 colleges and universities used some form of geothermal technology, the energy savings could start at $2 billion annually. That calculation assumes that the average campus has energy costs of approximately $5 million per year.
An example: Ball Ball State University in Indiana is figuring to save about $2 million annually by using geothermal heat pumps to replace coal-fired boilers. This is focused on climate control (not electricity generation).
The 74-page report authors write:
"On its face, the implication of geothermal technologies might suggest application one building at a time, but such incremental steps only diminish the chance to capture the longer-term gains of campus-scale energy management. The better strategy for implementation over time requires a whole-systems vision and scheduled integration of campus-wide geothermal technologies."
The commonality that makes higher education institutions well-suited for geothermal: They usually have significant land acreage under their direct control, which is a critical consideration for geothermal activities.
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com