The City of Surrey’s new civic centre complex will house the Surrey City Hall, Library, and an office tower. To heat and cool the complex, and new buildings planned for the future, the city chose a geoexchange system. For the system design they selected Hemmera. Geoexchange, also known as geothermal heat pump technology, captures the thermal energy that is freely available in the ground under our feet.
In our design, a 406-borehole geoexchange ground loop will supply the base energy load for the centre. The design challenges were many: the system will serve many energy-load scenarios, and a broad range of operating temperatures, over multiple installation sites. We had to evaluate many data sets, and engage in an extensive process of dialogue with stakeholders, and coordinate with other design teams, before arriving at the optimum geoexchange design. The result is a customised solution to complex site requirements, and the largest geoexchange installation of its type in Canada.
