Heating, Cooling & Hot Water

Lafayette’s central steam plant is one of the most critical infrastructures on campus.

Although the steam plant is crucial for campus operations,it is also the largest single source of direct (scope 1) greenhouse gas emissions on campus, accounting for approximately 11% of total campus emissions and 56% of scope 1 emissions (approximately 4,800 metric tons of CO2e) annually from natural gas combustion.

Learn more about Lafayette’s Decarbonizing Heating, Cooling, & Hot Water strategies in Category 1, Section 10 of the full Climate Action Plan 3.0.

Pathways Evaluated

Lafayette and ERM evaluated a total of 13 pathways to replace or transform the existing steam system, ultimately narrowing it down to four pathways. These initial pathways were assessed based on emissions reduction potential, cost and economics, impact, and implementation feasibility to identify which solutions would be most compatible with Lafayette’s campus and community.

Potential Solutions

Primarily decentralized solution pathway:

Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP): Electrically powered systems that exchange heat with outdoor air to provide building heating and cooling, replacing steam and traditional fossil fuel natural gas boilers.

Primarily centralized solution pathways:

The College may also continue to have a centralized source of energy to meet the heating, cooling, and hot water loads of much of the campus in addition to ASHP at some buildings. Lafayette may incorporate one of the following centralized solutions on campus:

1. Geo-Exchange (Ground-Source Heat Pumps)
2. Cogeneration (Combined Heat and Power) with Carbon Capture
3. Fuel Cells with Carbon Capture

Our Path Forward

After a thorough examination of the tradeoffs, the conclusion of the work was that Lafayette will likely pursue either a purely decentralized option or some combination of decentralized and centralized solutions to reduce emissions from the steam plant.

Educational Opportunities

The steam plant transition represents a large project that can serve as a living laboratory for students and faculty.

For all of the centralized solutions, there may be opportunities for students and faculty to engage in the design portion of the project, assisting with site assessments and conducting research on geo-exchange or carbon capture configurations.

Thermal Loads Road Map