Digging deeper
By Fran Daniel | Journal Reporter

Landmark Builders of the Triad expects the 8,500-square-foot MemoryCare addition to Arbor Acres to be completed by the end of December and the 117,000-square-foot assisted living building to be finished by the end of 2011. Here are more facts about the project:

• 115,000 cubic yards of dirt will be hauled off from the site.

• 15 miles of geothermal pipes will be installed.

• 132 wells, 400 feet deep each, will be installed.

• The site was lowered by 15 feet to 22 feet, depending on the topography, to create the construction area.

• About 60 employees work onsite now. By the fall, that number should jump to 250.

Residents of two new buildings going up at Arbor Acres will be kept warm in the winter and cool in the summer through technology that taps the power of the earth.

Both buildings at the retirement community will have a geothermal heating and cooling system. The project is one of the largest of its size in the Triad.

Landmark Builders of the Triad Inc. is digging 132 wells over a two-acre site to install the system.

The wells are drilled about 400 feet into the ground to create a well field.

"What's unique about a geothermal system is that it's using the groundwater that's at a pretty constant temperature of about 55 degrees," said Rodney Cheek, a senior project manager for Landmark.

He said that the well field acts as a giant heat exchanger to take advantage of the earth's relatively constant temperatures. During the summer, a pump system will distribute cool air to buildings.

"It works just the opposite in the winter time," Cheek said. "It's taking that water and it's warming it up to 55 some degrees."

Landmark is constructing an assisted living building and an addition to the MemoryCare area for cognitively impaired residents that will be connected to the existing area by a breezeway.

"Right now all assisted living is spread out over the campus," said Lynn Ross, the director of marketing for Acres United Methodist Retirement Community, which is on Arbor Road. "When the new building is constructed they will come under one roof."

The retirement community currently has 66 beds for its assisted living services and 18 in its MemoryCare center. With the expansion, it will have an additional 6 beds for assisted living and 12 more for MemoryCare.

The MemoryCare addition is scheduled to open by late December. The assisting living building is expected to be finished by the end of 2011.

Les Cranfill, the director of buildings and grounds for Arbor Acres, said that going green is important to the retirement community because it wants to reduce its carbon footprint and reduce its energy costs.

He said that geothermal systems use less energy to heat and cool buildings than standard heating and air conditioning systems.
Sizable investment

The total cost of Arbor Acres' geothermal system is $3.12 million compared with $2.78 million for a standard heating and cooling system, according to Reece Engineering, the engineering company for the project.

Despite the sizable upfront investment, Cranfill believes that the system is worth the money.

"We're looking at, right now, about a five-to-seven-year payback on our investment," he said.

The expansion project will include other green features. For example, Landmark is putting in energy efficient windows in the buildings and is checking out different flooring products made with low volatility organic compounds.

Residents at Arbor Acres are also part of the reason for the changes. Cranfill said that some of them have been interested in going green.

When Cama Merritt and her husband, Robert, moved into a house at Arbor Acres in April 2009, they had various green features added to their home, including an overhang that keeps the sun out of their sunroom window during the summer but allows the sun to come in and warm their home during the winter.

The couple also put in additional insulation to reduce their need for air-conditioning and heating and installed hardwood floors that are made of sustainably harvested wood.

Cama Merritt likes the idea of a geothermal system on the campus.

"I am very proud of Arbor Acres for taking these steps to reducing the use of fossil fuel with the geothermal sources of energy," she said.
Proven technology

Paul Quinlan, the deputy director for the N.C. Sustainable Energy Association in Raleigh, said he is not surprised by a retirement community putting in a geothermal heating and cooling system but added that it's not something you see every day.

"Geothermal is typically a very cost-intensive resource but it is certainly a proven technology," Quinlan said.

He said that geothermal is a great option for long-term investment in buildings and he expects more use of the systems in the future.

"The reason we see that is because these technologies, especially energy efficiency type measures, can benefit everybody," Quinlan said.