All-Electric Building Draws Energy From 500 Feet Below the Surface of the Earth
The temperature is always 55F underground. That’s why geothermal heat pumps are so cost-efficient.
At the heart of an apartment tower rising on the Brooklyn waterfront is a geothermal heat-pump system.
Photographer: Ismail Ferdous/BloombergThe key to heating an 834-unit apartment tower under construction on the Brooklyn waterfront will be a hole in the ground.
Actually, it will be 322 holes, each about 4 inches (10 centimeters) across and exactly 499 feet (152 meters) deep — any deeper and New York state would consider it a mining project. These holes comprise the heart of a geothermal heat-pump system that is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 53% over a comparable building using conventional heating and cooling systems. When complete in 2025, 1 Java Street will be one of the biggest US residential buildings using the technology.