The Pensacola Beach Fire and Rescue station has long used water to extinguish fires. Now water will quench the heat in the department’s new building thanks to a state-of-the-art geothermal heating and cooling system.

It’s a technology the Department of Energy calls the most efficient way to heat and cool a building. Water traveling through a series of underground pipes, where the temperature hovers between 70 and 75 degrees, dissipates heat in the summer and collects heat in the winter — using the renewable energy from the earth.

“These types of systems can use half the energy of a traditional heating and cooling system,” said Sandy Sims, Gulf Power’s Public Affairs manager. “And out at the beach, with the salt spray, a typical systems’ efficiency can diminish in as little as a year as outdoor parts begin to oxidize. With geothermal, there is no outdoor equipment to rust, and the underground piping is rated for 50 years.”

The heating and air conditioning contractor for the project, Danny Marshall with Energy Systems, recommended geothermal technology to Escambia County for the 8,126 square-foot building and asked for Gulf Power’s geothermal experts to be involved.

“Geothermal technology makes perfect sense in our region — and especially for the beach,” Marshall said. “We knew a typical setup on the beach with an outdoor unit would require much more maintenance than a geothermal system and be susceptible to hurricanes. We’re very pleased to see more and more of our customers choosing this very efficient system.”

In addition to qualifying for a $7,400 incentive from Gulf Power for installing a geothermal system, the fire station also qualifies as an EarthCents Commercial Building. This means the building has met minimum standards for the efficiency of the heating and air system as well as the performance of the thermal envelope, or how well the building resists heat flow.

Gulf Power’s EarthCents Commercial Building program is one of the many EarthCents programs designed to save customers money and energy by integrating energy-saving features and products into building design and use.

Technical Specs:

- 24 ground loops 250 ft deep = 12,000 feet of vertical pipe

- 18.5-ton Multiple Unit System

NOTE: A dedication of the new building will take place on Wednesday, July 29 at 10 a.m. at 901 Via de Luna Drive on Pensacola Beach.

Gulf Power Company is an investor-owned electric utility with all of its common stock owned by Atlanta-based Southern Company. The company is a tax-paying utility with rates well below the national average. Gulf Power serves more than 400,000 customers in 10 counties throughout Northwest Florida. The company’s mission is to safely deliver affordable, reliable and environmentally responsible energy to very satisfied customers in strong communities.