Geothermal Drilling Begins

After months of investigation and patient work with our contractors, the London Potters Guild has decided to install a geothermal HVAC system. The up front cost is significantly higher than a traditional system, but since we own the building and plan to be in it for many many years, we will recoup the investment, and the environment will benefit as well.

The London Potters Guild becomes the first commercial use of geothermal heating and cooling, and the first retro-fit using this system. 8 holes ill be drilled vertically to a depth of between 300 and 400 feet. video on geothermal

Geothermal HVAC systems are much more cost efficient in terms of fuel usage - 400% more efficient using electricity for cooling and 200% more efficient using gas for heating. In part, this is because they use the latent heating/cooling capacity of the earth instead of heating/cooling generated solely by burning gas for heating or by solely using electricity for cooling. The savings are greater for electric because electricity is more expensive than gas.

Our geothermal system may still use some electricity to augment heating in the winter on the coldest of days and to augment cooling in the summer on the very hottest of days, but the usage would be far less than conventional systems that use the fuel source constantly. In fact, we anticipate the back up, electric system will rarely be called into service since the system is engineered to handle the hottest and coldest days we experience in London.

We anticipate the operational cost savings enjoyed through this system to be approximately $4000 a year.

Drilling for the geothermal HVAC system started on May 11. In advance of that a few Guild members paid visits to several of 664’s closest neighbours to let them know in advance the work might be noisy. People were very appreciative that we took the time to let them know what is happening. Merchants in the Old East Village are excited about our project and there were many well wishes.

The full mechanical and architectural drawings for the entire first floor have been sent to the City for approval and a building permit. Interior work will begin shortly thereafter.

In advance of this construction, Guild members did more demolition and clean-up.

Click on the image to see a larger view.

A huge drilling rig has set up behind 664 Dundas for a 4 week drilling process.	Eight holes will be drilled to a depth of 300-400 feet.
. Interior demolition continues. We even removed the bathroom...

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