The Denver Museum of Nature & Science has received a $250,000 grant from the Colorado Energy Office. This funding will support the development of spatially coordinated engineering designs to explore the feasibility of a geothermal heating and cooling system, which has the potential to reduce the load on the Museum’s natural gas steam boilers.
A team of experts from Qvantum will work on defining the technical solution and providing support as the project undergoes evaluation to determine its viability.
low-temperature grid
"The plan is to create a low-temperature grid, or an “ambient loop” that combines small and large heat pumps, significantly reducing CO2 emissions and improving local air quality," says Michael Moggeridge, Director at Qvantum Solution Design Limited, one of the subsidiaries of Qvantum Industries.
"The really smart part is that we use existing system infrastructure to make the project much more viable."
5th generation district heating
"These heat pumps can deliver heating and cooling with excess thermal energy in one area of the building that can be used in another. The geothermal element enables interseasonal heating and cooling where excess heat in the summer can be stored in the ground and utilized again in the winter."
"The concept is often referred to as “5th generation district heating”, which is the most efficient way to heat and cool thermal energy loads across multiple diverse building types."
heating and cooling systems
They have all been part of designing low-temperature heating and cooling systems for mixed-use systems
The design work will be coordinated by BCER. They will be aided by experts from Swedish heat pump system company Qvantum: Per Rosén, Tekn. Dr. and Specialist in Energy Systems, Jonas Ekestubbe, Head of heat pump system design together with Michael Moggeridge.
They have all been part of designing low-temperature heating and cooling systems for mixed-use systems in the UK, Sweden, and other parts of the world. They will also work closely together with the Museum’s team of internal systems experts and general contractors.
energy decarbonization
“This will enable the Museum to decarbonize our energy system, and that will include inter-seasonal energy storage,” says George Sparks, CEO of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
"The Museum is deeply interested in this new technology and looks forward to potentially becoming one of the first in the US to implement it." The grant is part of Colorado Governor Jared Polis's $7,7 million award program for Geothermal Energy Projects.
