City eyeing HVAC switch

A Syracuse engineering firm tonight will recommend that the city of Watertown purchase a geothermal system to heat and cool City Hall and neighboring Roswell P. Flower Memorial Library.

The project would cost more upfront — as much as $1.3 million — than replacing the aging HVAC multizone system with a more conventional system. A geothermal heat-pump system will save the city $18,976 in annual energy costs, according to a report that will be presented to the Watertown City Council tonight.

"It's been what I've been preaching right along," said Councilman Jeffrey M. Smith, who has been a proponent of renewable-energy systems for the city and installed solar panels at his home and urgent-care business. "It's a savings annually and long term, and it's the smartest system. It's a win-win."

If the city proceeds with the project, geothermal energy would heat the buildings in winter and cool them in summer by using a water-looping system that takes advantage of more constant temperatures 4 to 6 feet below ground.

Representatives from consultant Sack & Associates, Syracuse, and City Engineer Kurt W. Hauk will present four options:

■ Installing a geothermal system, plus adding more-efficient chiller and variable-speed cooling tower equipment at a cost of $1,273,000.

■ Installing the geothermal system, chillers and cooling towers, plus upgrading the windows, roofs and walls of both buildings at a cost of $2,104,853.

■ Keeping the existing HVAC system and adding the chillers and cooling towers, costing $591,109.

■ Keeping and repairing the existing system, for which the report did not include a cost estimate.

The annual energy savings with a geothermal system could jump to $32,972 if the city proceeds with upgrades to windows, roofs and the walls of both buildings.

Mr. Hauk said the heating, ventilation and cooling systems for City Hall and the library need major upgrades, so the time is right to see whether a geothermal system can work.

The library, 229 Washington St., needs heat pumps, which regularly break down and have to be replaced. City Hall, 245 Washington St., is cooled by rooftop chillers that also are at the end of their "life expectancy," Mr. Hauk said.

According to the engineering report, City Hall would need "mechanical repairs prior to the 2011 cooling season if possible."

City officials started considering a geothermal system after visiting Auburn three years ago. They said they were impressed with what they saw and heard about the savings City Hall and other buildings in Auburn had seen since the system was installed about 10 years ago.