Geothermal Energy at Williston Northampton School
Fontaine Bros. recently acted as a construction manager at The Williston Northampton School. The project consisted of the construction of two new interconnected buildings and the simultaneous renovation of a third building more than a century old. All three buildings will be heated and cooled using a geothermal well system that will eliminate the need for conventional heating oil - cutting energy costs and helping to save the environment at the same time. Click here to read more about Fontaine Bros. involvment as construction managers.
The geothermal system requires the drilling of 15 vertical wells each 350 feet deep in order to tap into the earth's constant temperature at that level. Pumps in the building circulate a fluid through pipes that run up and down each well and eventually back into the building. That fluid is then used as fuel to heat or cool the entire building depending on the season. This system puts a premium on environmentally responsible building.
Fontaine Bros. has been involved in green building for more than a decade. In 2006, the company completed Ashland High School, the first public school in Massachusetts to be certified as environmentally responsible under the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Certification program.
The residence hall is only one of many projects that Fontaine Bros. has worked on at Williston Northampton School. In fact, Fontaine Bros. is proud to have been a part of numerous projects with the school over the years. In 1996, Fontaine Bros. worked on a complete gut and reconstruction of the old athletic facility to create the new Reed Campus Center. Fontaine Bros. has also been lucky enough to work with Williston on the new athletic center, numerous other dormitory projects, and the theatre.