A4 Spotlight: Heat Pumps for Historic Houses

Chateau-sur-Mer (Newport, RI) Photo Credits: PSNC

The Preservation Society of Newport County has embarked on a significant initiative to modernize the climate control systems within its historic properties, with a focus on achieving both sustainability and material preservation. A key component of this effort is the implementation of geothermal heat pumps, most recently seen at Chateau-sur-Mer, and previously at The Breakers.

There is a great need for modernizing these old structures. As they are both large and old, the lack of air conditioning has meant that the humidity and temperature of these properties vary significantly over time, which is not good for either the architecture or the antique furnishing within them.

Because historic mansions like The Breakers and Chateau-sur-Mer houses contain invaluable collections of art, furniture, and textiles, this variation in temperature and humidity over time led to a deterioration of the materials over time.

Traditional heating and cooling systems often struggle to maintain the stable environment required for preservation. Particularly when the buildings are so large the cost to heat and cool the structures becomes another obstacle and challenge.

The Preservation Society is committed to reducing its carbon footprint. Traditional oil-based heating systems are inefficient and environmentally harmful.   In contrast, Geothermal systems offer a renewable and sustainable alternative by using the ground below the building as the heat source during the winter and the heat sink during the summer.

How do geothermal systems utilize the stable temperature of the ground to replace the need to burn oil in the winter and to use large amounts of electricity to cool in the summer? Pipes are buried underground, circulating a transfer fluid that either absorbs or releases heat, depending on the season.   This way the system provides a consistent and efficient climate control solution from a thermodynamic standpoint.

The installation of a geothermal system at Chateau-sur-Mer this past year represents the latest step in implementing the Preservation Society’s sustainability plan.   As a result of the new installation, the amount of heating oil used per mouth at Chateau-sur-Mer dropped from 300 gallons to zero.

Prior to this, similar systems were implemented at The Breakers (built 1895, HVAC renovated in 2018) Chepstow (built 1860, renovated in 2015), and The Elms Carriage House (Built 1901, renovated in 2016) with more planned for the future. Mike Tabor< director of Properties for the Preservation Society of Newport County said “Within two weeks of the new system coming online the smell and feeling had completely changed. There was no mustiness or wetness in the air. I think it was not only the air conditioning itself but the fact that so much fresh air was being pushed through the house for the first time.”

These projects involve drilling wells, and installing extensive piping systems while taking great care to preserve the historic integrity of the structures.

The primary purpose of these systems is to provide stable and consistent climate control, protecting the historic interiors and collections. Additionally, the geothermal systems significantly decrease the use of fossil fuels over time, contributing to a more sustainable future, for both the institution and the planet.   The systems greatly reduce the amount of dust, and mold spores within the buildings, which can be harmful to the collections and expensive to address by hand.

To summarize, the benefits of these new geothermal systems are numerous. They greatly reduce energy costs over the long term. They improve air quality within the historic structures. They greatly decrease carbon emissions associated with heating and cooling these large properties. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly to the Preservation Society, they improve climate control and preservation of historic artifacts.

The Preservation Society’s commitment to geothermal technology demonstrates a forward-thinking approach to historic preservation, balancing the need to protect the past with a responsibility to the future. The institution benefits from a long-term perspective that these houses must be preserved for generations and they help make the initial investment easier to justify, but most analyses of geothermal heat pump installation show a 5-7 year payback and that period will get even shorter if fuel prices are ever made to include mitigation of the CO2 produced by their combustion. If you would like to integrate a sustainable heating and cooling system in your next project in Rhode Island or the surrounding state, please reach out to us at A4 Architecture. We look forward to working with you!

Click on the link below to watch a quick video about the geothermal installation in the Breakers’:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=119&v=72YoyQJgFng&feature=emb_logo

Ross Sinclair Cann, AIA, LEED AP, is an author, educator and practicing architect. He holds honors architectural degrees from Yale, Cambridge and Columbia Universities and is Founding Principal at A4 Architecture in Newport Rhode Island. He has designed for the installation of geothermal heat pumps at many of his residential, commercial and institutional projects.

Sometimes the newest technologies work best for the oldest of buildings. Ground source geothermal heat pumps are one such example:

https://A4arch.com/a-new-technology-for-old-buildings/

#geothermal #NewTechnology #EnergyRetrofit #PSNC #NewportRI