Yorkdale School, Yorkton, SK

The 40 year old school in Yorkdale, SK has had several additions over its life. The old heating system consisted of two inefficient gas boilers that supplied hot water to two large air handlers and perimeter radiation for the older sections of the school, and two gas fired rooftop units that provided heating for the newer areas. Air conditioning was not provided.

Rising gas prices and operating and maintenance costs required that the school board look at more efficient options. As part of a complete building renovation package, the board decided to minimize the use of natural gas by installing a geothermal heat pump system.

Three Ice Kube fluid-to-fluid heat pumps were installed to provide hot and chilled fluid for the system. New water-to-air coils were installed in the two air handlers and the two rooftop units. The rooftop units had been built to allow for the installation of cooling coils in the future. This provided enough space to install the water coils with little modification. The coils were designed to provide adequate heat using 110 deg.F (43 deg. C) fluid, and cooling based on 45 deg. F (7 deg. C) fluid.

A vertical earth loop in the school yard provides the heat source and sink for the building. The heating capacity of the heat pumps is approximately 600,000 btuh (175 kW), and the cooling capacity is approximately 60 tons.