CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- The four most energy-efficient buildings in the Cleveland school system are those with geothermal heating and cooling, the system energy coordinator said.
Mayfield and Arnold elementary schools, Cleveland Middle School and Cleveland High School rank at the top for efficiency on square-foot comparisons of energy costs, coordinator Paul Ramsey said.
The "top four least-expensive schools to provide utilities for are our geothermal schools," he said. "I applaud the [Cleveland Board of Education] for having the vision to provide geothermal when we made renovations or added new schools."
The comparison was made using actual utility costs, Ramsey said, and not by calculating cost avoidance.
Converting to geothermal energy sources when possible is not the school system's only conservation program launched over the past two years. Like Bradley County Schools, Cleveland has replaced old-fashioned lighting with energy-efficient lights.
Bradley County's first geothermal school, Park View Elementary, opened last fall.
The science addition under construction at Cleveland High School will have geothermal heating and cooling, too.
Mickey Webb of Webb Plumbing and Heating said most of the geothermal system in the science addition is pipes linked to underground wells from which water circulates through the building to keep a constant temperature.
The pumps are monitored by equipment called frequency drives, which regulate how much electricity is needed to work the pumps and cut back the power when less is needed, he said.
"It's all about being green," Webb said.
Contact Randall Higgins at rhiggins@timesfreepress.com or 423-314-1029.