2008 Woodie Awards
::Editorial::
Going "green"
Issue date: 4/16/07 Section: Op-Ed
- Page 1 of 2 next >
West Chester University has something to be very proud of. No, it's not Bruce Willis' decision to produce Die Hard 2 or our shocking discovery that Barbaro is alive and well in Kentucky (those were both jokes, everybody). It's something a little greener. A lot greener, actually.
The school, thanks to a $248,458 grant from the Pennsylvania Energy Harvest Grant Program, is implementing the use of geothermal energy - energy originating in the Earth's core-to heat and cool the former Swope Music Building.
The nearly one-quarter-million dollar grant will begin saving the University money immediately and it is estimated that over 20 years, about $650,000 in reduced maintenance cost and energy savings will be incurred. In addition to the economic benefits this grant offers the university, the geothermal technology is a pollutant-free, and it's use will reduce WCU's output of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere by about 700,000 pounds per year.
A geothermal system uses the 55-degree ground temperature below the frost line (about three feet underground) to heat and cool a building. Because the temperature below the frost line is relatively stable year-round, little adjustments or tweaking of the system is necessary.
During the winter months, natural heat from below the Earth's surface is collected in a series of pipes. Fluid circulating through these pipes carries the heat to the building where it is distributed to each individual room. Conversely, during the summer months, the process is reversed and fluid carries excess heat from the building outside where it is absorbed into the Earth, thus cooling the building.
Last October, Pa. Gov. Ed Rendell announced a total of $5.1 million in grants through the Pennsylvania Energy Harvest Grant Program to support 27 projects state-wide. The grant awarded to WCU was the seventh-largest this year.
This year, the 27 "green" projects will produce or conserve the equivalent of 4,567 megawatt hours of electricity (enough to power 456 homes) and will replace the use of 264,426 gallons of heating oil or diesel fuel and 955 tons of coal.
The school, thanks to a $248,458 grant from the Pennsylvania Energy Harvest Grant Program, is implementing the use of geothermal energy - energy originating in the Earth's core-to heat and cool the former Swope Music Building.
The nearly one-quarter-million dollar grant will begin saving the University money immediately and it is estimated that over 20 years, about $650,000 in reduced maintenance cost and energy savings will be incurred. In addition to the economic benefits this grant offers the university, the geothermal technology is a pollutant-free, and it's use will reduce WCU's output of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere by about 700,000 pounds per year.
A geothermal system uses the 55-degree ground temperature below the frost line (about three feet underground) to heat and cool a building. Because the temperature below the frost line is relatively stable year-round, little adjustments or tweaking of the system is necessary.
During the winter months, natural heat from below the Earth's surface is collected in a series of pipes. Fluid circulating through these pipes carries the heat to the building where it is distributed to each individual room. Conversely, during the summer months, the process is reversed and fluid carries excess heat from the building outside where it is absorbed into the Earth, thus cooling the building.
Last October, Pa. Gov. Ed Rendell announced a total of $5.1 million in grants through the Pennsylvania Energy Harvest Grant Program to support 27 projects state-wide. The grant awarded to WCU was the seventh-largest this year.
This year, the 27 "green" projects will produce or conserve the equivalent of 4,567 megawatt hours of electricity (enough to power 456 homes) and will replace the use of 264,426 gallons of heating oil or diesel fuel and 955 tons of coal.
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