Boston University installs geothermal energy system for data sciences building
By Rod Walton
The new campus for Boston University's Center for Computing and Data Sciences (CCDS) is being built as a net carbon-free facility with geothermal energy supplying nearly all of its heating and cooling, according to reports.
Contractors are boring holes and fixing pipes so the campus can be supplied with about 300 tons of heating and cooling capacity. The installed heat pumps could deliver about 90 percent of the facility's needs.
The BU Center for Computing and Data Sciences project is due to be completed this year. KPMB was the architectural contractor for the new build.
"The center will be state of the art in every way: striking architecture, advanced resources, environmental sensitivity, and interior spaces designed to facilitate collaboration," reads the university's website about the CCDS. "Rising above Central Campus, the 19-story structure will house our mathematics, statistics, and computer science programs, as well as the renowned Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering."
A recent study involving BU, Harvard, Oregon State researchers and the nonprofit Home Energy Efficiency Team found that building energy consumption is best met by technologies such as ground source heat pumps. Electrified heating may be less efficient and unable to meet cold winter challenges, the report reads.