A new program in Framingham, Massachusetts is leading the transition from gas to geothermal heating and cooling.

Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.

This episode, we’re taking a look at one neighborhood in Framingham, Massachusetts. This summer, residents had their furnaces and ACs replaced with a network of pipes that get energy from the heat of the earth. The network is the first of its kind in the country.

We had Cameron Leo and Christine Okulo from our Possibly Team look into this.

Cameron Leo: Hi, Megan!

Christine Okulo: Hello!

Megan Hall: So why are the folks in Framingham using heat from the earth?

Cameron Leo: Well, In the Northeast, most households still use gas to heat their homes.

Christine Okulo: Which is a problem because warming our houses that way creates a lot of greenhouse gases. If you’re like the average American, about a third of your greenhouse gas emissions come from heating your home.

Cameron Leo: Plus, in Massachusetts, almost 20% of gas pipes are leak-prone. And when these pipes leak, they release methane, a powerful gas which is both a safety risk, and a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Christine Okulo: A report in 2016 estimated that those leaks were collectively erasing all of the climate gains promised by the state’s energy efficiency programs.

Cameron Leo: New repair and replacement laws have helped—but since new leaks crop up all the time, experts say it’s impossible to ever finish fixing them.

Christine Okulo: Instead of spending billions playing catch up, some people thought we should invest in an entirely new energy system.

Megan Hall: So that’s what’s happening in Framingham?

Cameron Leo: Exactly. One neighborhood there made the switch over to ground-source heat pumps, which use electricity to pump water from a couple-hundred feet below-ground, where the temperature is a steady 55ºF all year.

Christine Okulo: This system warms buildings up during the winter, and cools them off during the summer—so residents can get rid of their gas pipes and air conditioners all in one go.

Megan Hall: I feel like heat pumps have been around for a while.

Cameron Leo: That’s true, but what makes the Framingham case exciting is that the system was paid for by a gas utility, which connected all the pumps together to form what they call a “thermal network.”

Megan Hall: So why would a gas utility company pay for its customers to switch to a gas-free service?

Cameron Leo: We were wondering the same thing, so we spoke with Eric Bosworth from Eversource, the gas company that operates the network in Framingham.

Eric Bosworth: The states that we operate in are moving towards decarbonized options. And so as part of that, the gas business takes a look and says, how can we decarbonize? Network geothermal was interesting because it is ultimately just pipes in the ground, very similar to what we do every day in the gas business.

Cameron Leo: In fact, thermal networks use the same exact kind of pipes as gas lines—so workers already have the skills to install them.

Megan Hall: That’s interesting. But what about residents? Aside from creating less greenhouse gases, what’s in it for them?

Cameron Leo: In the long run, there’s no doubt that thermal pumps save customers money.

Christine Okulo: They use less electricity to heat and cool your house than any other system. Especially when you’re dealing with a network rather than individual pumps.

Megan Hall: What about the cost of getting all of this new equipment?

Christine Okulo: It’s true. It is expensive to get the heat pumps installed. In some cases. It can take up to a decade to pay off the price of the equipment and installation. That’s kept a lot of people from making the switch.

Cameron Leo: Which is another reason why what happened in Framingham is a big deal. Since the utility company covered the cost of all the installation, residents started benefiting from lower utility bills as soon as the network was installed.

Megan Hall: How much are they saving?

Cameron Leo: Residents are expected to see their utility bills go down by up to 20%.

Christine Okulo: And their greenhouse gas emissions slashed by 60%.

Megan Hall: So, is this how all of us should be heating and cooling our homes?

Christine Okulo: Well, this is a pilot project, and there are more coming in other states- which might use slightly different techniques.

Cameron Leo: Different utilities will also have different cost models. So we’ll see which approaches and cost models are most effective. But either way, heating our homes with renewable energy is a key step towards a fossil fuel-free future.

Megan Hall: Great! Thanks, Cameron and Christine

That’s it for today. You can find more information, or ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, at askpossibly.org. You can also subscribe to Possibly wherever you get your podcasts or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, or Bluesky at  “askpossibly”

Possibly is a co-production of Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative, and the Public’s Radio.

The post Are geothermal networks the future of heating and cooling? appeared first on TPR: The Public’s Radio.

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Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall. 

Have you ever wondered why we should save water when it feels like Rhode Island has enough to go around? Today, Meg Talikoff and Juliana Merullo are here to answer that question. Hi, guys!

Juliana Merullo: Hi!

Meg Talikoff: Hey, Megan!

Megan Hall: So, what’s the deal? Why should I worry about my ten-minute shower when we seem to be having a lot more floods than droughts around here? 

Meg Talikoff: First, it’s important to clarify that water conservation has different benefits depending on who is using less water.

Megan Hall: What do you mean by that?

Juliana Merullo: Well, the amount of water people use at home is so small relative to other uses, that it basically doesn’t affect our total water use. 

Meg Talikoff: So, the reason you personally should conserve water isn’t really related to how much water is available in Rhode Island. It mostly has to do with energy. 

Megan Hall: Can you explain that a little more? How are water and energy connected?

Juliana Merullo: It just takes a lot of energy to get water from the environment, treat it, transport it to your house, heat it, clean it when you’re done, and repeat that cycle over and over again. 

Megan Hall: Okay. But, is using energy really a bad thing? 

Meg Talikoff: Well, most of our energy still comes from burning fossil fuels. Which means the more water we use, the more greenhouse gasses we emit. 

Megan Hall: So, energy use contributes to climate change, but how much are we talking about? Is water a big contributor?

Juliana Merullo: It’s not the biggest home energy use, but it’s not small either. 

Meg Talikoff: In the typical American house, water heating alone accounts for about 20% of all the energy use. 

Juliana Merullo: That’s less than heating air, but more than all your electronics and appliances. And it adds up.

Meg Talikoff: In fact, the amount of energy the average American spends on home water services comes out to about one and a half  tons of carbon dioxide per year.

Juliana Merullo: For reference, the average American car creates about four and a half tons of carbon dioxide a year. 

Meg Talikoff: So if you wanted to offset your water use by not driving, you’d have to walk everywhere for over four months a year!

Megan Hall: So I shouldn’t be mindlessly using water. Do you guys have any specific tips on how to conserve?

Meg Talikoff: The most obvious answer is just to turn off the tap when you can. Cutting your shower time in half will naturally cut that shower’s emissions in half, too.  

Juliana Merullo: You could try picking one song, and getting out of the shower when it’s over!

Meg Talikof: Also, something people don’t always realize is that about 95% of the energy cost of home water use comes from heating the water. 

Juliana Merullo: So using cold water can save you a bunch of water-related emissions. 

Meg Talikoff: One easy way to use more cold water is by running your laundry machine on the cold setting. 

Juliana Merullo: If you’re brave, try a cold shower. One recent study found that spending five minutes in cold water (without your getting your head wet) could boost your mood. 

Meg Talikoff: Though, I’m not going to try that one.

Megan Hall: If I’m not ready to commit to a cold shower in the morning, is there anything else I can do to save water?

Meg Talikoff: Definitely – That’s where you can look into buying water-efficient appliances. For example – front loading washers use much less water than top loaders. 

Juliana Merullo: And ENERGY STAR appliances use about 20% less energy than traditional washers. 

Meg Talikoff: Or you could make the heating process more efficient by warming your water with a hot water heat pump, instead of a water heater that burns gas or oil. 

Megan Hall: Okay, I’ve got action items! But what about those “other uses” you mentioned? Who’s using up most of our water?

Meg Talikoff: We’ll talk more about that in our episode next week.

Megan Hall: Got it! Thanks Meg and Juliana!

That’s it for today. For more information, or to ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, go to thepublicsradio.org/possibly. Or subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. 

You can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook or X at  “askpossibly”

Possibly is a co-production of The Public’s Radio, Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, and Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative.

The post Why should I use less water in a wet state like Rhode Island? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio.

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