Town Hall HVAC Geothermal Project Begins

The has broken ground, as many residents who have visited the ripped up parking lot at Hicks Memorial Municipal center have noticed. The work began two weeks ago after the town signed a contract with W.J. Mountford Co. out of South Windsor to oversee the implementation of the approximately $3 million project. 

According to Tolland Energy Task Force chair Mark Summers, the work in the parking lot is just the first phase of construction. Summers explained that crews are currently digging in the parking lot to prepare for the eventual drilling of 40 400-feet deep wells in the town hall parking lot. The project should be complete around the fall of 2012, according to Summers.

The wells are one part of the closed loop system that will carry water, heated from the earth’s warmth, to heat pumps and a pipe system throughout town hall. Electricity will be needed to run the building’s 19 heat pumps as well as for some circulator pumps and fans to distribute the cooled and heated air.

In general, however, Summers says that the efficient system will save energy and money.

“It uses the least energy,” he said, adding that the system will operate at a lower cost than other options that the committee considered. Summers is familiar with geothermal systems since he uses the heating and cooling system at his home and his business,

The project will also include replacing town hall’s current heat pumps, upgrading duct work and investing in more efficient ceiling and lighting fixtures.

Residents approved the project at a with 683-480 vote. The project was originally approved for $3.6 million in bond funding, which is around $500,000 due to energy conservation bonds.

For more information on the project, visit the town’s Web site.