Nov. 30, 1999
A lesser-known power company in Utah is finishing construction on a new headquarters. And the building's unusual design reflects a growing interest in an old idea-- drawing energy from the sun which is stored inside the earth.
Environment Specialist John Hollenhorst has the story from South Jordan.
At the new headquarters you won't find a traditional cooling system or a gas furnace.
Deseret Generation sells electricity, of course, so they didn't want to promote the competition.
Ed Thatcher/Deseret Generation & Transmission: "And also we were concerned about the environment. We wanted an environmentally friendly system."
So they settled on a complex network of pipes and pumps. Water circulates throughout the building, keeping rooms at room temperature year-round, by borrowing energy from nature.
The system takes advantage of something even Neanderthals understood. In a cave, you stay warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer because the ground has a constant temperature. This system simply moves the energy from the ground into the building.
Cary Smith/Sound Geothermal: "So we just kind of borrow that energy back from the sun after it's been kind enough to heat up the ground."
The heart of the system is just outside the Board of Directors meeting room. Out of sight, under the parking lot, there are 60 boreholes plunging 200 feet deep into the ground.
Water circulates back and forth from the ground to the building and back underground where it's always 42 to 46 degrees.
Inside the building, compressors, heat exchangers and heat pumps borrow energy from the water in the wintertime.
Cary Smith: "In the summertime, when we're air-conditioning, we're storing the energy back in the ground."
Yes, the system uses electricity. But proponents claim it saves money in the long-run.
Ed Thatcher: "This system over a period of 8 or ten years will pay for itself."
Similar systems have been in place for years, but rarely in the Rocky Mountain West. But environmental and energy concerns are triggering a new interest in an old idea. John Hollenhorst, Eyewitness News.
The L.D.S. Church Office Building has a similar system. It's also being used in a growing number of schools in southern Utah.
