By Marc DeBrock
Rhinelander
Summer is approaching and for many of us, our thoughts turn to camping. Tent sites, swimming, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, energy efficiency and solar power. Well, maybe some of that doesn’t come to mind, but solar power could very well be a topic of conversation among campers this year in the Northern Highland–American Legion State Forests.
The Clear Lake Campground has a new face. The old contact station was removed and a new ranger station, completed last May, stands in its place. The new building footprint is 40 percent larger than its sister station on Muskellunge Lake but uses 25 percent less energy.
Part of that efficiency comes from the Climate Master forced-air geothermal heating and cooling unit installed for year-round use. In addition, it also provides a portion of the hot water whenever it is in use.
The good Earth
The geothermal system uses ground-coupled piping to circulate fluid from the building out to five 120-foot vertical bore holes, and back into the building. Each 120-foot borehole has a loop of piping in it which is connected to an underground manifold. The entire borehole is then sealed with a specific pure clay mixture to protect the aquifer and provide good thermal conductivity between the ground and the fluid in the piping.
While traveling through the underground piping, the fluid picks up the Earth’s natural temperature, which the geothermal unit converts to usable heat. During the hot summer months, the process is reversed and the fluid transfers building heat into the ground allowing the geothermal unit to act as an air conditioner.
Using the Earth as a medium to heat and cool buildings can save on burning fossil fuels. A properly-designed system in an energy efficient building can have coefficient of performance values of three to five. This means that for every unit of energy that is used, there are three to five units returned from the geothermal system. This can add up to huge savings over time.
Solar savings
Another new look at the Clear Lake Campground this year is a solar hot water system. A four-panel, flat-plate solar water heating system was designed to displace some of the propane use for the shower facilities.
It’s a perfect solution for energy savings. A lot of hot water is used in the campground during the summer months when the sun’s intensity is at its peak. The shower facilities at Clear Lake accommodate the approximately 98 campsites there, plus campers from four outlying stations.
The solar system was constructed for its energy savings as well as an instructional model the state can use to provide useful renewable energy information to the public.
The concept of renewable energy systems in the state campgrounds started with Richard Logan, the facilities maintenance specialist, and was met with enthusiastic approval from Steve Peterson, the state forest superintendent, and all the way up to WDNR Secretary Matt Frank.
Going for the green – locally
In keeping with the “buy local” theme, the solar panels were purchased from Bubbling Springs Solar, a Wisconsin based company in Menominee. The Bock Company, maker of the solar storage tanks, is also based in Wisconsin.
The solar panel mounting structure was fabricated by Dick Breezer and Dave Sleight, part-time employees of the state. It was designed to hold the panels at a 30-degree angle to the sun for optimum summer heat gain and high enough to provide a safe instructional setting for campers.
With additional help from Dan Jacobi, part of the maintenance team, and volunteer time from MMK Solar Thermal, the four solar water heating panels were set and secured on the structure.
Inside the shower facility, two 120-gallon solar storage tanks were installed and plumbed into the existing gas water heater by Gene Johnson of Hazelhurst Plumbing.
Dick Logan took care of the final hook up to the circulating pump station and heat exchanger.
A solar-heated propylene glycol solution is pumped through the panels and into a heat exchanger on the storage tanks where the sun’s heat is released into the water, then the glycol solution circulates back out to the panels.
A differential controller, guided by temperature sensors, activates the pump when there is enough solar resource available to make hot water and the storage tanks are becoming depleted. The differential controller insures a very efficient use of the solar radiance. Since most of the hot water use is during the day when the solar gain is at its peak, another layer of efficiency is added.
The shower units are already equipped with low flow heads and timed valves. Dick feels the addition of the solar water heating panels will have a tremendous impact on both reducing propane use and as an educational tool for renewable energy in Wisconsin.
With the State of Wisconsin taking a leadership role in energy efficient technologies and renewable energy installations, we will all benefit from both the educational aspects of these systems and the “greening” of Wisconsin. I think I’ll keep my tent pitched here.
(Marc DeBrock is co-owner of Webster Well Drilling Inc. He is a licensed well driller and pump installer in Wisconsin and Michigan, an accredited geothermal installer through the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association and a solar advocate. He is currently going through the certification process for listing with Focus On Energy for solar thermal full service installer and solar thermal site assessor. DeBrock can be contacted at marc@nnex.net)