It will take less energy and money to make the IKEA store opening next year in suburban Denver feel pleasant when the sun bakes or when the snow drifts, thanks to 130 holes dug into the Earth, where the temperature remains about 55 degrees all year round.
IKEA, the Swedish home furnishings retailer, has teamed with the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory to showcase and study the advantages of a geothermal heating system currently under construction in Centennial, Colo.
It will be the first IKEA store in the United States to be built with geothermal heating and cooling, said Douglas Wolfe, IKEA project construction manager for the store expected to open south of Denver in the fall of 2011.
The holes, each 500 feet deep, will be directly below the parking garage that will be just below the store.
Geothermal heat pumps use 25 percent to 50 percent less electricity than conventional heating or cooling systems, a potential saving of several billion dollars a year if projections for geothermal growth prove true. The Environmental Protection Agency says geothermal heat pumps can reduce energy consumption—and corresponding emissions—up to 72 percent compared to traditional electric resistance heating and standard air-conditioning equipment. Geothermal cooling and heating also improves humidity control by maintaining about 50 percent relative indoor humidity, making GHPs very effective in humid areas.
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