Both districts selected geothermal only after evaluating lifecycle costs, sustainability goals and long-term building performance.
Barnes says that’s one of the biggest misconceptions surrounding geothermal. Successful projects don’t begin with selecting a heating and cooling system. They begin with a feasibility study that evaluates building loads, site conditions, available land, lifecycle costs and incentive opportunities before determining whether geothermal is the right solution.
According to Barnes, geothermal decisions should always start with a thorough evaluation.
“If you’re going to own that building for 40 or 50 years, you owe it to yourself to understand all the options before you move forward,” he says.
The experiences of Waunakee and North Shore school districts highlight several practical lessons for facility managers evaluating geothermal.
Before moving forward, organizations should also understand available financial incentives and compliance requirements. Doug Kolker, who advises organizations on clean-energy tax incentives, says early financial planning is just as important as engineering design when maximizing project funding.
“It’s best to bring in all the team members as early on as possible to help educate everybody that is involved in the project,” Kolker says. “There are deadlines based on their fiscal or calendar year ends, so it’s really important to have these conversations as early on as possible.”
Waunakee Community School District proved what geothermal can accomplish over the long haul. North Shore School District 112 is exploring what the technology can become.
Together, the two projects show that the conversation around HVAC is changing. Facility managers no longer have to choose between operational performance and sustainability or between innovation and fiscal responsibility.
Instead, they illustrate that geothermal has matured from a niche solution to a practical option for a growing number of schools and institutional facilities. Advances in system design, stronger financial incentives and years of proven performance are expanding geothermal’s reach and strengthening its business case.
For organizations facing major HVAC replacement cycles, geothermal should no longer be viewed as an alternative technology outside the mainstream planning process. It should be evaluated alongside conventional heating and cooling options as part of a broader capital planning discussion.
For facility managers facing aging infrastructure, the question is no longer simply whether geothermal works or whether it is practical, but whether it belongs in their next capital project.
Ronnie Wendt is a freelance writer based in Minocqua, Wisconsin.
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