Green Building Practices in Central Oregon

IN HOT WATER

AS I WRITE, IT IS MID-WINTER in Central Oregon, and it is snowing. It’s a cruel contrast to the week I just spent on the island of Hawaii, soaking up the sun and cavorting with humpback whales. Yet, as I sit snuggled under a Pendleton blanket with the wood stove blazing, I find myself thinking about the similarities of these two places. I am thinking of volcanoes.

Hawaii is one of the youngest pieces of earth on Earth; parts of the island are literally being birthed by an active volcano. Despite its tropical topping, the dark expanses of visible lava flows are reminiscent of Central Oregon. The volcanic history of our high desert give us the jaggedly beautiful Broken Top mountain, lava caves and the chips of obsidian glass that I sometimes find in my garden.

Geothermal energy is the heat contained in the rock and fluid in the earth’s crust. It is a huge and often untapped resource that can be used to heat homes and offices. Where this heat exists, ground-source heat pumps can be used to augment home heating. Heat pumps transfer heat from the soil or groundwater to a house in winter and from a house to the soil in summer.

The Klamath Falls area has taken the lead in harnessing this resource. A prime example is John Lund’s Klamath Falls home. In 1981, Lund drilled a 375-foot-deep well and got into hot water—which, of course, was exactly what he’d hoped for. The water was 220 feet deep, and its maximum temperature was 204°.

Lund uses geothermal energy to heat small areas of his home as well as his domestic water system,  which includes a 500-gallon outdoor spa. The home heater is a retrofitted forced-air system with a new heat exchanger (like a car radiator) that is inserted into the duct work and powered by a thermostat-controlled fan.

Geothermal heat is extracted from the well by a closed-loop heat exchanger; a small pump circulates water to the radiator-type heat exchanger.

“The heat [from geothermal energy] is more uniform and comfortable [than gas or electric], and best of all, my utility bill for home heating, hot water and the outdoor hot tub is only $10 per month!” Lund says.

A true fan of geothermal, Lund now works for the Geo-Heat Center at the Oregon Institute of Technology. “In Klamath Falls,” he crows, “not only can you live in a geothermal home: You can be born in a geothermal hospital; go to a geothermally heated grade school, middle school and high school; attend a geothermal college; swim in a geothermal-heated swimming pool; eat in geothermal restaurants; walk and drive on geothermal-heated sidewalks and streets; go to a geothermal-powered church, and be interred in a geothermal mortuary!”

Direct-use geothermal is not an option throughout all of Central Oregon, but significant opportunities can be found. Geothermal mapping can help pinpoint the resource. The Kah-Nee-Ta Lodge on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation uses direct geothermal to heat its swimming pool. (What else would you expect with the name Warm Springs?) The Newberry Crater volcano area has registered the highest geothermal temperatures in the country—above 500°.

As energy prices continue to rise, geothermal systems will become increasingly popular. Both heat-pump systems (typically priced between $7,500 and $10,000) and the more effective direct-use systems ($12,000 to $20,000) may be installed by welldrillers or plumbers. To make these options more desirable, the Oregon Department of Energy offers tax credits for certain residential geothermal systems. Additional incentives are available for commercial systems.

As odd as it sounds, there has never been a better time for Central Oregon residents to get into some hot water.