Digging Deep

Students parking in the newly resurfaced W4 lot on the north side of Stewart Stadium don’t know they are also parking on top of a significant source of energy savings.

Over the summer, crews bored more than 200 wells 275 feet deep into earth to take advantage of the consistent temperature underground.

Since the 1960s, Weber State has heated and cooled its buildings with super-heated steam or chilled water circulated through 1.5 miles of pipe in tunnels connected to every building.

The university will continue to use those pipes, but now part of the water’s path will travel through the wells where the temperature will be restored to 57 degrees.

The project was one of a number of sustainability efforts mentioned by the Utah Association of Energy Users when it presented Weber State with its Outstanding Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Conservation award.