Construction completed on New York City’s largest geothermal building
Facade of 1515 Surf in Coney Island, New York (source: 1515 Surf)
Carlo Cariaga
14 Oct 2024
A residential development with the largest geothermal system for heating and cooling in New York City, 1515 Surf, has officially opened in Coney Island.
1515 Surf, a multi-family residential complex in Coney Island with an integrated geothermal system, has officially been opened. The property has been developed by LCOR and is now considered the facility with the largest active geothermal system in New York City.
We had first reported on this project in the latter half of 2022, but the plans for it had been in place since 2020. A geothermal system was not part of the initial plans for the project, but the developers chose this technology to make the building operations more sustainable. The geothermal system is expected to help the building reduce its carbon emissions by 60%. The utility costs are also expected to be up to 30% lower, with savings of between $150 to $450 per resident per year.
“We spent the better part of a year and a half investigating the constraints and challenges,” said LCOR Vice President Anthony Tortora from a previous update. “That this site was so large and was close to the ocean presented itself as a unique candidate for geothermal.”
Below the building is a geothermal bore field consisting of 153 boreholes, each drilled to a depth of about 499 feet (152 meters). The constant temperature of the geothermal resource tapped by these boreholes means that the system can provide heating during winter and cooling during summer. An array of geothermal heat pumps distribute the energy throughout the building, maintaining temperature and even providing heat to an outdoor pool.
The design and installation of the geothermal system was done by EcoSave, a company specializing in energy innovation and net-zero solutions. About a year was spent in determining the design of the bore field, considering the number of wells that had to be drilled and the spacing between the boreholes. Architecture company Studio V then had to design the building to integrate the surface components of the geothermal system, allowing for functionality that is seamlessly incorporated into the building’s aesthetic.
Although 1515 Surf currently holds the title as the biggest geothermal installation in New York City, there is already a project being developed that aims to snatch this title – an 834-unit residential development in Greenpoint that is expected to open by 2026. The team of LCOR, Studio V, and EcoSave have also started work on a smaller building in Rochelle which will also have a geothermal system. This is expected to be completed by next year.
Encouraged by financial incentives from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the Clean Heat, there is clearly a geothermal movement that is gaining momentum in New York. Work is currently ongoing for 1 Java Street in Brooklyn, a mixed-use development that will incorporate a geothermal heat pump system. With the passing of a law earlier this year that makes it easier to drill geothermal wells beyond 500 feet depth, deep geothermal systems are likely to have a more prominent presence in New York moving forward.
Source: Fast Company
