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AUBURN - A three-year-old geothermal project at Auburn City Hall has resulted in significant energy savings for the 77-year-old building. It has also boosted growth in the geothermal division at McQuay International, the project developer.
Auburn City Hall's need for air conditioning prompted a meeting in early 2000 between city officials and representatives from McQuay International. McQuay is a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning manufacturer (HVAC) and supplier, with its Applied Terimnal Systems plant located at 4900 Technology Park Boulevard in Auburn.
After assessing the city's desire to retain City Hall's historic architecture and the problem of third-floor temperatures reaching 105 degrees during the summer, McQuay engineers suggested a geothermal system.
A geothermal system utilizes the earth's natural heat and is more energy efficient than a typical gas boiler and central airconditioning system, McQuay says.
McQuay decided to install a console unit at Auburn City Hall, says Dean Grunseth, the Auburn City Hall project manager for McQuay.
"At the time, McQuay didn't have a console product, so we developed and manufactured that product specifically for Auburn City Hall," Grunseth says. "The console unit consists of small units on the wall in each room of the building that control the temperature."
The 70 wall units are connected to the larger geothermal system, says William...