By Kevin Stickney
From June 2025 edition of Facility Executive
FOr both financial and ecological reasons, energy savings and efficiency have become concerned for owners, operators and residents of institutions. According to the US Ministry, 30% of the energy used in US business buildings are wasted, which means that the operators of the facilities leave money on the table.
In addition to the direct business costs of the energy efficiency of the energy, the managers of the facility must increasingly answer the underlying sustainability and the environmental impact of their buildings. Regulations, mainly at the local level in the USA, show this trend. Municipalities all over the country update the building regulations to require energy efficiency or decarbonization. For example, the Local Law of New York City prescribes 97 carbon caps for the construction of over 25,000 square meters.
Heating and cooling correspond to more than 40% of the energy consumption for the commercial building and thus ensure the largest individual energy source. Fortunately, the introduction of heat pumps is assumed as a solution for inefficiency and carbon emissions from HLK systems. Financial incentives aimed at the use of commercial heat pumps help accelerate acceptance and compensate for costs in advance that often serve as an obstacle to installation. However, the managers of the facility should recognize that not all heat pumps are equally efficient, inexpensive and sustainable.
Use of the earth as a battery
Heat pumps can play a role in reducing energy waste and in the more sustainable reduction in a certain type of heat pump that drastically improves energy efficiency: floor source, also referred to as geothermal energy. These are heat pumps that use a “geo exchange” system for capturing and using the earth's heat energy to heat and cool down via a system of boreholes and energy monitoring systems. Cut out air source heat pump pump and more frequent type than HLK systems with fossil fuels two to three times more efficiently. However, geothermal heat pumps can do four to six times as efficiently as fossils.
The market for geothermal heat pumps is ripe for expansion, with about 1% of the buildings in the USA having a geothermal heat pump. If the sector grows, a decisive calculation for plant managers is cost. After an initial investment, geothermal energy and other heat pumps have proven to be more cost-effective than other heating and cooling systems and save dollars by reducing the dependence on natural gas-a key area for savings, since the gas is about 34% of all energy consumption in US trade buildings and gas prices and the earth can use stable temperature for later use.
Geothermal heat pump systems that are in operation today can provide over 80% energy savings, 67% lower carbon emissions and cost reductions of 25% compared to gas. In an average building of 100,000 square meters, these systems can reduce the heating energy by 82% and cool by 30%, which gives more than 50% of the energy savings.
Efficiency in the core
Place can be a challenge for every project -upgrade project, especially in tight urban areas and for new projects in which the building must be planned as efficiently as possible. The recent progress in geothermal heat pumping technology has made it possible to create deep boreholes that come from a single small-footed surface point, and then radiate the surface, which means that the energy of the earth is much more possible than possible. And as soon as a building has been converted into geothermal warming and cooling, the inherent efficiency increases significantly reduce energy consumption. In contrast to Air source heat pumps that depend on the air temperature, this is dependent on the typically stable and predictable temperature of the planet itself for heating and cooling. In other words, the earth serves as a natural moderate energy source: In winter and cooler, always stay warmer than the surrounding air in summer in winter and cooler. It turns out that the earth is a natural all-purpose heating and cooling system.
This means that energy can be constantly generated and then captured by “geothermal networks” that can be shared with other buildings in order to increase efficiency if the furnishings are not used or saved and used later. This is the reason for the massive efficiency gains of geothermal heat pumps over their air sources and to a greater extent, fossil fuel drive systems to a larger extent. The ability to share energy and to prevent peak times for heating and cooling these overload nets is also of great benefit for multiple building facilities such as hospitals and universities.
Having an impact on the ground on
Thanks to this efficiency, institutions with geothermal heat pumps can meet the requirements for regulatory decorbonization and meet the wishes of employees, customers and other interest groups in order to address environmental problems in all aspects of their business. This means that facilities with geothermal heat pumps reach the premium much more often, which is available for “green” trading buildings and increases its attraction to potential occupants, investors and buyers.
Managers of the institutions can play a leading role in the transformation of US commercial heating and cooling – and now considerable financial and reputational advantages – through the transition to geothermal heat pumps. Through consistent value through efficiency, cost savings and reduction in carbon emissions, these systems prove that more intelligent energy begins underground.
Stickney is the managing director of Erda Energy, a company that offers energy solutions and focuses on reducing energy consumption, supply costs and carbon effects by integrating the thermal stability of the earth and the integration of heating and cooling needs.
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