Maine-based Foundation tracking geothermal payback

In Maine, the Chewonki Foundation of Wiscasset has installed a web-based energy logging system to monitor the geothermal heating unit they recently had installed. The unit, which is to help heat the largest building on campus, comes from Massachusetts-based Onset Computer Corp. It incorporates flow meters to measure BTUs produced and flow rates; a kilowatt sensor to measure the electric draw of all the system pumps; and temperature probes measuring air temperatures inside and outside, and input and output well temperatures.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission (MPUC), which funded the system, is interested in verifying that the geothermal system will be a more economical energy source over the oil heat source the school had been using. Depending on the results, the MPUC may consider geothermal systems for public housing projects.