Date: March 2007
Description: RESPC funded the installation of 34 geothermal wells ranging in depth between 100 and 500 feet. By circulating water through three and a half miles of underground pipes, these wells utilized the thermal properties of the earth to control building temperatures in the Education Center, absorbing heat in the winter and cooling water in the summer. The energy savings generated by the wells helped the NCBG Education Center become the State’s first LEED Platinum Certified public building in 2010.
Allocation amount: $210,000
Benefits to students and UNC: By funding the installation of geothermal wells at the NCBG, RESPC encouraged innovation and established a new form of renewable energy that hadn’t yet been utilized on campus. The project helped educate UNC’s students and faculty by exposing them to a broader portfolio of alternative energy. All the while, the wells brought tangible benefits to the university by reducing the energy consumption and operating costs of the Education Center.
Geothermal wells
