Manhattan Transfer: Geothermal Technology in the City
(Page 3 of 4)
January/February 2003
By Robyn Griggs Lawrence
Again, no small task. John had to apply for and receive approval for an oil and gas well before he could drill the eight-inch hole for his pipes. This attracted the attention of the EPA, which actually proved to be a blessing. That agency enthusiastically supported John’s experiment and pushed through the application to get his wells approved.
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A drilling rig with specialized steerable bits bored through 100 feet of dirt, then 1,100 feet of Manhattan schist before it hit its mark. “This was a rig that was meant to be used in the country, and it was very, very noisy,” says John, who had to endure his neighbors’ wrath during the twenty-eight days it took to drill a well for each of the five houses.
September 11
Inside the house, John and Sarah chose limestone and oiled wood floors, low-toxic paints, natural linoleum, and natural wood finishes that wouldn’t outgas harmful chemicals. Still, they were concerned about sealing their family inside a super-insulated, super-tight home, which can lead to health problems. So John installed a balanced ventilation system that provides an unusually high level of filtration and fresh air, free of pollen, mold, and particulates.
Again, this proved particularly beneficial in late 2001, as a lethal mix of dust, chemicals, and asbestos from the WTC towers blanketed Tribeca. John and his family closed all the windows tight and changed the filters weekly. “Only a minimal amount of dust got into the house, even though it was inches deep outside,” John says.
September 11 also delivered a bizarre twist to the list of green features in John and Sarah’s home. The house faces south, giving it a natural orientation to take advantage of passive solar—collecting the sun’s warmth in the thermal mass of the limestone floor during the day and releasing it back into the space at night. The quality and quantity of light inside the home changed drastically on that tragic day. Sun now floods the main living spaces from morning until late afternoon. And because the radiant floor system circulates throughout the house, that solar gain can be collected and distributed, even to rooms with northern exposure.
“While the remaining World Trade Center environmental dust and debris keeps us inside and makes our windows hard to keep clean, the loss of the towers has allowed more winter sun to flood into the house, making sitting at the dining room table an even more wonderful experience,” John says. “I do not think we would have traded tragedy for sun, but I think both will be with us here in lower Manhattan for a long time.”
Tricks of the trade