You may think that geothermal heating and cooling keeps individual homes comfortably cool in the summer and warm in the winter, and you’re right. But that’s just the start. Geothermal can fit into many unique applications, including large commercial sites. If you missed the first list, check out our previous post on 6 popular tourist sites that use geothermal for heating and cooling.
Here are six MORE sites and commercial operations that may surprise you.
1. The Glessner House Museum (Chicago, IL) – This historic granite-clad mansion completed in 1887 is considered one of the most important residential commissions of the 19th century. Today, the museum showcases how geothermal heating and cooling can be retrofitted into an existing landmark structure.
2. The GrowHaus Hydrofarm (Denver, CO) - This commercial hydroponics greenhouse relies on geothermal heating and cooling to achieve the right soil temperatures for 10,000 plants at various stages in a process of perpetual harvesting.
3. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (Greenbelt, MD) – The geothermal system at Goddard replaced an aging steam system and illustrates the retrofit ability of this modern technology..
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4. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, Massachusetts) – Geothermal heating and cooling keeps temperature and humidity just right for the paintings, sculptures, tapestries, and decorative arts that the museum houses. This includes the spaces for special exhibits and performances in the museum’s 75,000-square-foot expansion, added in 2012.
5. Zoo de Granby (Granby, Quebec, CN) – Geothermal heat pumps serve several exhibits, including the Elephant Pavilion, the Hippopotamus River, and the South American Temple. The zoo reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 21 percent with geothermal heating and cooling.
6. Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill (Harrodsburg, KY) – This landmark destination of 34 original Shaker structures reflects the Shakers’ practice of being good stewards of their resources. As such, geothermal heating and cooling comforts visitors in buildings throughout the complex.
Are you interested in geothermal for your special project? We would love to hear from you and help you out!
