Geothermal district heating for Reno, Nevada, USA

Journal Article · Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1984 · Geothermics; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0375-6505(84)90020-8· OSTI ID:6524581

Atkinson, D J; Huxtable, D D

The City of Reno is one of the most obvious candidates for geothermal district heating in the United States. Lying within a belt of major thermal anomalies, it has within its boundaries the Moana Hot Springs geothermal reservoir and probably other reservoirs, and only 14 km to the south is the major reservoir at Steamboat Hot Springs. This paper discusses the alternative heat sources that can be used, and selects Steamboat as the most conservative choice for a ''worst-case'' analysis of the details and economics of a model district heating system. A closed 16 km transmission loop between Steamboat and downtown Reno is envisaged, carrying 121/sup 0/C water in the supply line and 65/sup 0/C in the return line. This loop is isolated by heat exchangers from both the 176/sup 0/C geothermal fluids at the Steamboat end of the line, and from the Reno user systems at the other. Detailed analysis of thermal demand densities in different parts of the City led to a model distribution network 48 km long, that serves the optimum grouping of zones of concentrated heat users. A large proportion of existing heating systems are hydronic and retrofitting of the selected buildings to the distric heating system is relatively straight forward.

• Research Organization: Hydrothermal Energy Corp., Los Angeles, CA
• OSTI ID: 6524581
• Journal Information: Geothermics; (United States), Vol. 13:3
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
GEOTHERMAL DISTRICT HEATING
PLANNING
URBAN AREAS
BUILDINGS
CAPITALIZED COST
COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS
ENERGY DEMAND
HEATING LOAD
NEVADA
PEAK LOAD
RETROFITTING
COST
DEMAND
DISTRICT HEATING
FEDERAL REGION IX
GEOTHERMAL HEATING
HEATING
NORTH AMERICA
USA
151000* - Geothermal Energy- Direct Energy Utilization