Biomass Systems

Heating: Biomass chip boiler

Cooling: Adsorption chiller

Local biomass expert Mark Froling installed the library HVAC system. The heating system runs off locally sourced wood chips and  the boiler also powers the chiller-- making our system run on 100% renewable energy. To find out more about how exactly a wood boiler supplies cooling- check out this fantastic article here.

The HVAC system also has UVC treatment in the ductwork.

The entire HVAC plant is located in the back of another library building, the Kyes-Sage House, which has a small used bookshop in the front. This allowed us to maximize every square foot availble in the new library.

Thank you to our partners at Froling Energy for their generous contributions to help make this system a reality. We cannot say a loud enough thank you to the Froling team!

We also thank the Public Utilities Commission for their generous grant which made the adsorption system in this project possible.

Solar Power

View the stats on our solar production,  both today and across the array's lifetime, click here.

System size:   71.6 kilowatts (217 solar panels)
System output:  75,520 kilowatt-hours/year
CO₂ reduction:  79,900 pounds/year

Comprised of 217 solar panels on the rooftop of our library building, this system will generate roughly 75,520 kilowatt-hours (kWhs) of electricity every year, and has the potential to save our library upwards of $300,000 over the lifetime of the system.

Additionally, the environmental benefit of producing our own local, clean power will be keeping 79,900 lbs of carbon pollution out of the atmosphere, or offsetting the equivalent of over 134,500 miles driven in a gas-powered car every year.

The array was installed by our partners at Revision Energy .

The library received a $50,000 grant towards the solar array from EBSCO Information Services, an Ipswich, Mass.-based company that offers services for libraries around the world. The company gives out yearly grants to libraries around the world to help them go solar and reduce energy expenses, and Peterborough Library is the first in the Northeast to receive the grant.