Barton Hills Golf Club installs geothermal heat, LED lighting

Wednesday, September 29, 2010 | Source: Concentrate

With a hot summer behind it, the Barton Hills Country Club is finding its new geothermal heating and cooling system paying off -- literally.

Club General Manager Corey Gerhart says the system offered exceptional comfort when the mercury rose. "We had much better control," he says. "We're running about 45 percent of a cost reduction right now, on electric use."

The club installed the geothermal system and replaced its lighting last year for about $550,000. He expects a return on the investment in about seven years; the system should last about 25-30 years overall. He says the golf club eventually wants to be completely off the electrical grid and has looked into solar panels and wind turbines.

"Michigan tends to be slower as far as power integration," he says. "We're waiting for everything to catch up a bit."

The indoor lighting was changed to LEDs, and the exterior uses inducting lighting, another system that is much more efficient. "We've been looking at alternative energy sources for years."

Overall, both staff and patrons of the country club have been pleased, especially considering its Ann Arbor location. "We've been very pleased with it," he says. "The membership is proud that they did it. They’re seeing some reduction in cost, (because) our carbon footprint is pretty substantial."

Source: Corey Gerhart, Barton Hills Country Club general manager
Writer: Kristin Lukowski