Executive Summary

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 The Penn State Lehigh Valley building is a three-story building intended for primary higher education/University occupancies. This building’s mechanical system was analyzed for educational intentions and evaluated in previous technical reports for ASHRAE Standard 62.1 and 90.1 compliances, including an energy model to calculate a block building load. For this thesis, a mechanical system is proposed as an alternative design from the original. This is not intended to discuss flaws of the existing mechanical design but as an educational opportunity to design and propose a mechanical system for an existing building.  

            The mechanical depth includes the design, calculation and proposal of a geothermal system. Most systems are designed with an energy distribution method, either from a water loop of a chiller/boiler or a simple air-to-air heat pump such as the existing packaged rooftop units of Penn State Lehigh Valley. This alternative design includes a ground source heat pump (GSHP) which exchanges the energy from the geothermal system.

            This proposal aims to study the energy consumption and cost effectiveness of the system. The decision to rationale this proposed design, other options are evaluated to compare energy consumption and cost. The goal of this study to find the energy savings difference from a geothermal system to other system designs. Following that study, a cost analysis among different systems to evaluate the optimal distribution system to supplement the geothermal system throughout the building’s individual zones.

            Additionally, a construction and acoustical study was evaluated for the proposal of the geothermal well installation and the effect of a heat pump as a sound source to a class room respectively. The calculation to determine the optimal location within the building’s property was evaluated and the cost of the high initial cost is reasonable for the yearly energy savings.