Library gets $28,000 rebate

    The Washington Public Library was recently rewarded for its energy efficiency with a $28,500 rebate from Alliant Energy. The library was designed to consume less energy than traditional buildings of its size, even though the energy savings typically involved spending more money on upfront capital. For these efforts, Alliant Energy promised to cover some of the costs of construction once it verified the energy saving proposals had been fulfilled. 

    Library director Patrick Finney said the library features all manner of energy saving measures for both the winter and the summer months. Among the most significant of these is the geothermal heating and cooling system the library uses. Geothermal heating is the use of heat contained in the ground below the earth?s surface. Finney said that the library gets its energy from two sets of earth tubes laid at 15 feet and 30 feet below the square. Several meters below the surface, the temperature of the ground is 55 degrees year round, which is why it is used to heat the building in the winter and to cool it in the summer.

    The former library did not use geothermal heating but rather a conventional boiler. Finney said that one obvious difference between the two heating systems is that the new one is much quieter. He said that while the geothermal system cost more to build and install than the alternatives, it should make up for the additional expense in reduced energy bills after five years.

    The current library also has a sophisticated system for controlling the temperature in each of its meeting rooms. Finney remarked that each meeting room has a thermostat that communicates with the heating system when the room is either too warm or too cool. Finney said that when there is a meeting in a room with a lot of people, the temperature of the room will rise, which in turn tells the heating system to provide less heat to that particular room without any of the other rooms being affected. Finney said there are 13 separate ?heating zones? and that the library saves money by only heating those zones where people congregate or have meetings.

For the full story, see the Jan. 26 edition of The Washington Evening Journal