EKOS Communications, Inc.

The geothermal heat pump system recently installed at Lower Fort Gary reduces the need for natural gas consumption during winter months, helps cool the building in the summer, and is expected to provide an energy cost savings of $5,800 per year and a reduction in annual greenhouse gas emissions by over 46 tonnes.

Geothermal heat pumps function based on the premise that water lying beneath the earth is warmer in winter and cooler in summer than the air temperature outside. By moving this pre-heated or cooled water through a heat exchange system, the need for fossil fuel energy usage is significantly reduced.

At Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site in Manitoba, water from an underground well is merged with propylene glycol (which acts like anti-freeze) and moved through a heat pump. The heat pump then transfers the heat from the water into a chamber filled with air. The air is then warmed further, via a compressor, and is circulated throughout the building, warming it as required. Once the heated water has circulated through the building and the water itself has begun to cool off, it is then returned to a discharge well below ground. In the warmer months of summer, when air-conditioning is preferred, the system works in reverse by moving hot air out of the building and putting it back into the ground.

Controlling air temperature with a geothermal pump is as simple as controlling air temperature with an electric furnace. If the room needs heat, you turn up the thermostat and heat is pumped from the well water and circulated into the room. If your room needs cooling, you turn down the thermostat and excess heat is pumped out of the air in the room and transferred back into the water, and back into the ground.

Geothermal heating systems are user friendly and if installed correctly required limited maintenance. For more information on geothermal heating visit:

• www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/mb/fortgarry
• www.canren.gc.ca
• www.cleanenergy.gc.ca