Project Highlights
Selected Project Experience
Geothermal Engineering Where the Ground Matters
Below are selected projects that illustrate the range of geothermal challenges we address.
Pickering Middle School Project, Lynn, MA
The Pickering Middle School project involves the construction of a new 5-story, approximately 183,000-square-foot facility, partially funded by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). A ground source heat pump system has been proposed to provide sustainable heating, cooling, and domestic hot water for the building. The geothermal loop field design includes 90 quad loops, each reaching a depth of 800 feet. ThermoLync LLC has been retained to provide geothermal loop field design and construction administration services.
Project Challenge
The project requires a large geothermal borefield to serve a major institutional facility within the constraints of a developed school site with limited land available.
ThermoLync's Approach
ThermoLync developed the ground-side system consisting of 800' deep boreholes of quad-loops with consideration of borehole configuration, piping, hydraulics, constructability, and coordination with the broader building design.
Photo credit: https://pickeringmsbuildingproject.com
Town of Eason Municipal Complex Project, Easton, MA
The Town of Easton is undertaking a crucial public safety & public works facilities replacement project to enhance essential services for the community. The project involves the construction of 3 new buildings: a combined DPW facility, police and fire headquarters, and fire substation. Ground source heat pump systems with 3 separate geothermal loop fields have been proposed to provide sustainable heating and cooling for all the three buildings. The geothermal loop field is designed to consist of a total of 70 U-bend loops, each 600 feet deep. ThermoLync is responsible for the design of the geothermal loop field and for providing construction support services.
Project Challenges
The site presents significant uncertainty regarding subsurface conditions and drilling methods, making the relationship between geologic conditions, borehole construction, and project cost particularly important.
ThermoLync's Approach
ThermoLync coordinated closely with project team to evaluated available subsurface information, geothermal design requirements, and alternative drilling approaches to help the project team understand construction risk and develop practical borefield strategies.
Photo credit: https://eastonpsw.com/
Woods Hole Ferry Terminal Reconstruction Project, Falmouth, MA
The Woods Hole Ferry Terminal Reconstruction Project involves the construction of new Terminal and Utility buildings. Ground source heat pump systems with two separate loop fields are proposed to provide sustainable heating and cooling for the buildings. The Terminal Building’s loop field includes 27 U-bend loops, each 250 feet deep, while the Utility Building’s loop field includes 12 U-bend loops at the same depth. ThermoLync was retained to provide construction administration services related to the geothermal loop field installation, including submittal and RFI response management, as well as construction observation.
Project Challenges
The project required careful coordination of geothermal loop installation within a complex waterfront construction environment along with challenging drilling conditions with abundant cobbles of boulders, and tidal impact.
ThermoLync's Approach
ThermoLync provided focused construction-phase support to help verify installation, respond to field issues, and coordinate geothermal work with the broader construction process.
Photo credit: https://www.steamshipauthority.com/news/15-woods_hole_terminal_reconstruction_project
Shaker Lane Elementary School Project, Littleton, MA
The Shaker Lane Elementary School project is a Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) project involving the construction of a new approximately 97,000-square-foot elementary school. A ground source heat pump system has been proposed to provide sustainable heating and cooling for the building. The geothermal loop field is designed to consist of 60 U-bend loops, each 600 feet deep.
ThermoLync provided geothermal test loop services, bedrock geophysical survey coordination and evaluation, geothermal loop field design, and construction administration services.
Project Challenges
Shallow and variable bedrock conditions presented important considerations for borefield construction and horizontal piping installation.
ThermoLync's Approach
ThermoLync combined geothermal design with site-specific subsurface investigation, including test drilling, thermal testing, field probing, and geophysical information, to better understand conditions affecting the geothermal installation.
