Engineering Inc. - Winter 2020 - 44

INTHENEWS

Goldman Copeland Designs
New York Geothermal Screening Tool

ew York's commitment to reduce its
total greenhouse gas emissions by
80 percent by 2050 will require a
dramatic rethinking of how the city's
more than 850,000 structures will be
heated and cooled.
One little-used option has been
geothermal systems. Because they require a larger footprint than other systems, geothermal systems pose a challenge due to the city's intense density. Furthermore, the
geological features of the area also can be problematic in
large swathes of the city. Nevertheless, city leaders believe
geothermal will be a necessary component in the longterm energy strategy.
In order to promote the use of geothermal systems,
New York contracted with Goldman Copeland Consulting Engineers to produce a publicly available online
geothermal screening tool that assesses the potential
for using ground-source heat pumps for every building
within the city.

SOURCE: NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION

Charles Copeland

ENGINEERING INC.

WINTER 2020

"It is a big tool," says Charles Copeland, president and
CEO of Goldman Copeland. "Not just because of the
number of lots, but also the number of variables. For
folks living on a farm in Michigan, installing a geothermal system is relatively easy. It is not the same in New
York."
The tool analyzes the potential implementation of
four types of geothermal systems (closed-loop, standing
column well, open-loop, and hybrid systems) compared
with a conventional HVAC system. It organizes every
structure in the city into one of 25 types, based on age,
size, and occupancy to establish a baseline for thermal
load and conventional energy consumption. It also factors in land area availability for thermal storage/extraction
and the geology at the Borough-Block-Lot level.
Overall, the tool shows limited geothermal potential
in Manhattan and the Bronx because building loads
often exceed the potential thermal capacity of the available outdoor space. Staten Island, Queens, and Brooklyn
are more promising because there is more outdoor space
for drilling, and building loads are generally less intense.
However, Brooklyn has a large potable water aquifer,
which also limits access to geothermal systems.
The majority of commercial buildings are not feasible
because their large heating/cooling loads with limited
outdoor space exceed the ground thermal capacity. The
most feasible structures are smaller structures like schools,
multifamily buildings, or single-family homes. In many
cases, a hybrid system can be used, with a cooling tower
and additional heating to offset peak loading.
"Building owners or others can find their building or
lot on the web-based map and get a feasibility analysis
based on the three different geothermal systems," Copeland says. He adds that because the tool uses generic
installation costs, "final decisions should be made only
after completing an in-depth feasibility study for the site."
Although the tool was designed for New York City,
Copeland believes it can be adapted for other areas
around the country using U.S. Geological Survey maps
and local soil condition analysis.

Engineering Inc. - Winter 2020

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