The Nashua school district is digging deep to improve its grades in energy efficiency.
If approved, Nashua schools will be the first in the state to heat their buildings using geothermal heat.
District officials say the long-term savings are huge.
But so are the upfront costs.
NHPR Correspondent Sheryl Rich Kern visited one of the schools and files this report.
Ambient sound, walking downstairs, compressor
A walk down into the dimly-lit boiler room of Fairgrounds Elementary School in Nashua is a cautious journey back in time.
The setting: the 1950s, when many of the city’s schools were built.
Shawn Smith, the district’s director of plant operations, points to the outdated tanks and piping.
Compressor sounds
Smith: And they’re on their last legs. They’re expected to last 35 years. That’s the middle life expectancy for these things.
Smith says the boilers could fail at any time.
Replacement models, he says, can run between 11 and 14 million dollars.
But, Smith says, that’s not the best – or greenest -- option.
Instead, Nashua school officials are proposing a geothermal heating system for three of its elementary school buildings.
But the commitment to alternative energy comes at a price.
Smith: The range is about 10 million dollars to 23, 24 million dollars.
Ed Murdough runs the state aid program for school facilities.
New Hampshire, he says, would reimburse the city for 30 percent of its building expenses. Still…
Murdough: It’s very expensive. Oftentimes when schools are considering construction, the initial cost is an overwhelming factor.
Murdough says some school districts – most recently in Bow – have evaluated geothermal, but ultimately declined.
Geothermal, says Murdough is a gamble:
EM: If we have five years of warm winters in a row, you’re not going to see the payback you would if you have five years of cold winters.
School operations director Shawn Smith doesn’t see the risk.
Smith: Just talking natural gas, we’re expecting to save 60 percent on our gas bill every year.
That would mean, for example, Fairgrounds Elementary School could drop its annual gas bill from 50,000 dollars to 20,000.
Smith says the school is also looking to combine geothermal with solar power, an approach Tom Belair of PSNH calls “innovative.”
Belair runs the energy efficiency programs at PSNH and promotes harnessing the state’s natural resources.
TB: Geothermal uses electricity to convert, take the heat out of the water, or the coolness out of the water that you’re pulling out of the earth. It’s typically much more efficient than any fossil fuel heating system that you can get.
But, Belair admits, the underground component of geothermal creates an unknown expense.
TB: That’s one of the issues with geothermal. How many wells are you going to have drill to get the water out? You never know until you start drilling.
And the average savings could fluctuate for other reasons, such as replacing old roofs and windows for more efficiency.
SZ: I am not against geothermal heating.
That’s School Board member Sandra Ziehm.
SZ: If you can afford a Cadillac (laughs). You can’t take your money with you; you might as well enjoy it and go with the best. You know, this is taxpayer’s money.
Across the country, more than a thousand schools cutting their heating bills with geothermal systems.
But none are in New Hampshire – at least not yet.
Nashua is awaiting a final bid before School Board members and the Board of Aldermen review it.
If elected officials vote yes – as most say they will -- construction would begin in the summer and last about a year for each of the three elementary schools.
Whether Nashua creates an environmental trend among schools may likely depend on how quickly the buildings recoup their investments.
For NHPR news in Nashua, this is Sheryl Rich-Kern.
