Pictured on front: Maintenance Coordinator Dave Conway typically fills five boilers (with cordwood) in about 15 minutes. Right: Four of the five GARN cordwood boilers in Long Lake’s wood heating plant.
“We contract with someone to come cut wood for us at our center. It provides employment to the local economy, a lot of which is forest-product driven, here in east central Minnesota.” ‘A Proof of the Pudding’ Long Lake’s wood system continues to meet all of its heating needs—and those can be extreme needs. “We have long stretches of days where we don’t get tem- peratures above zero,” Rogenkamp says. “Our lows get down to 30 or 35 below.” Housed in a single-building Energy Cen- ter, the Long Lake system heats a total of 12,500 gallons of water that are piped underground throughout the campus. Within the buildings around the cam- pus, “our heat is supplied by a variety of different methods,” Rogenkamp says. “That’s one of the unique things about the GARNs: they’re very adaptable to different heating uses. If you have radiant baseboard heating, the GARNs work with that. You can match them up with forced- air and with in-floor heating. We have all three: one building with forced air, two buildings with in-floor, and the rest with radiant baseboard. “We use our wood system as part of our education here. Whether we’re talking with students or adults, we show them how they can be sustainable, how they can live a sustainable life by using a renewable- energy resource.
“Part of Long Lake’s mission is to promote the wise use of natural resources—so hav- ing the GARN system here is a proof of the pudding, so to speak. These units show that we’re taking advantage of a renewable resource, we’re using it wisely, we’re using a system that is efficient. And the GARN units meet EPA standards for particulates, etc., with regard to heating with wood. “As far as lifespan, these units have been outstanding,” Rogenkamp concludes. “People are asking, ‘How am I going to get the best bang for my buck?’ With these units, you’re not talking about a huge cost to get started. And you’re looking at a pretty good return on your dollar.”
This case studies series was made possible by a generous grant from the US Endowment for Forestry and Communities and through the support of the US Department of Energy. For more information on this and other biomass energy projects, contact: Biomass Energy Resource Center PO Box 1611, Montpelier,VT 05601 ph 802-223-7770 | fax 802-223-7772
info@biomasscenter.org www.biomasscenter.org
© Copyright 2009 Biomass Energy Resource Center. All rights reserved.
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