Bellows Falls district heating assessment, October 1982. Final report, 1981-1982

Technical Report · Fri Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1982

OSTI ID:5320940

Raszmann, D

The town of Rockingham examined a number of energy sources for use in a district heating system in the Village of Bellows Falls. These were: moderate temperature ground water from an aquifer, wood, (a substantial Vermont resource), fuel oil, coal, trash incineration, and electricity. Funds provided under the grant were used to drill nine exploration wells to test the capacity of the aquifer. The Town explored systems alternatives consisting of heat pumps tapping the aquifer, a central boiler system, cogeneration systems, and a municipal waste incineration system. The study examined heat consumption data for the business district of Bellows Falls and the immediately surrounding area. An economic model was developed which calculated the cost of heating provided by each of the alternative systems. The study concluded that a ground water based heat pump system was the preferred option because of its adaptability to phased installation, and lower installed costs. The system selected for further study is a multiple well heat pump system providing water to several buildings. The Town proposes a second phase drilling program to evaluate the potential for intermediate level geothermal activity. It also intends to continue work on a low temperature ground water heat pump system.

• Research Organization: Rockingham Planning and Development Office, Bellows Falls, VT (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5320940
• Report Number(s): PB-83-256081
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
DISTRICT HEATING
COAL
COGENERATION
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
FUEL OILS
GROUND WATER
HEAT PUMPS
HEAT SOURCES
URBAN AREAS
VERMONT
WOOD
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
DEUS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENERGY SYSTEMS
FEDERAL REGION I
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HEATING
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
LIQUID FUELS
MATERIALS
NORTH AMERICA
OILS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
POWER GENERATION
STEAM GENERATION
USA
WATER
320603* - Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization- Municipalities & Community Systems- Public Utilities- (1980-)
290800 - Energy Planning & Policy- Heat Utilization- (1980-)