When Saginaw Valley State University opened a new $28 million facility for the College of Health and Human Services program at the end of last month, it also unveiled the largest aquathermal system in the state of Michigan.
The building -- which houses 12 classroom, 13 laboratories, and office space for the college -- also is home to a state-of-the-art aquathermal heating and cooling system that will save the university about $100,000 a year and pay for itself in about three.
"It's a significant savings," says J.J. Boehm, director of media relations for SVSU.
Through an elaborate system of pipes, coils, and heat transfer fluid called DOWFROST -- a product donated by The Dow Chemical Company -- the aquathermal system utilizes two large retention ponds on the northwest part of campus to heat and cool the building. The system costs about 37 percent less to operate than a traditional heating and cooling system.
In the summer, the system removes heat from the building, funneling it through a pipe, and transferring into the retention ponds, Boehm says. In the winter, the system draws on the latent heat in the pond and brings it to the building.
The environmentally friendly system also will help heat and cool the SVSU Regional Education Center, says Steve Hocquard.
But the aquathermal system also is an educational opportunity for contractors and companies who want to learn more about the green technology and all of its uses, he says.
"So in this regard we are helping to jumpstart engineering of this type of project in the state," Hocquard says. "And I think this could very easily be a situation where it could help provide knowledge to our mechanical engineering folks."
And at a time when the local economy needed a boost, construction of the project put a lot of local contractor to work, he says. Ninety percent of the contractors hired to do the work were local.
Writer: Jenny Cromie
Source: Saginaw Valley State University
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