A residential building under construction in New York will power its heat pumping system with geothermal energy, reducing emissions by 53%, Bloomberg reports. The 834-unit apartment building will tap into the state’s geothermal capacities stored 152 meters below ground by drilling 322 holes to extract heat energy. Construction is due to be completed by 2025 and it will be one of the biggest US residential buildings using this technology.

How does it work? A heat pump uses technology similar to refrigerators or air conditioners whereby heat is extracted from a source — such as the surrounding air or geothermal energy — then amplified and transferred to where it is needed, the International Energy Agency (IEA) explains. When geothermal energy is the heat source, cooling the building requires water to be mixed with an additive that inhibits freezing to be pumped down pipes into the holes where it gets colder and then pumped back up. To heat the building, stable underground temperatures can bring the water temperature to 13°C, then an electric heater increases warmth before distributing through the building.

Tapping into geothermal energy can make buildings more energy efficient: Buildings account for about 8% of global carbon emissions, mostly from burning fossil fuels for heating, Bloomberg writes. The region has already rolled out a large number of district cooling projects in a bid to increase building energy efficiency. By combining its new interest in geothermal energy, with its efficient cooling systems, the region has the potential to cut down on its building emissions entirely.

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