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The ever-increasing costs of fossil fuels have made the conversion to geothermal heating an attractive alternative. This paper outlines the feasibility design efforts for retrofitting an existing 40-unit motel from propane and electric heating to a geothermal supply. The motel is located in the south-central portion of Colorado at an elevation of 6900 ft (2100 m). A geothermal resource of 150F (65C) at a depth of 2,200 ft (610 m) is available for the conversion.

The equipment and installation costs for the geothermal conversion are approx. $110,000, assuming a geothermal supply temperature of 150F (65C). By providing all space heating and hot water needs from a geothermal supply the potential annual electrical savings are $21,000. The actual payback period is dependent on the site specific characteristics of the geothermal resource.

Citation: Symposium, ASHRAE Transactions, Volume 86, Part 1, Los Angeles, California