Unlocking Smarter, Cleaner Energy with Geo-Exchange Systems

Geothermal energy isn’t just a buzzword, it’s becoming a critical part of how buildings cut emissions, improve resilience, and use energy more efficiently. To understand the growing role of geo-exchange systems in the smart building space, ASHB spoke with Kevin Stickney from Erda Energy, a geothermal company working on projects ranging from university campuses to community-scale networks. In this Q&A, we explore how these systems work, where they shine, and what it takes to bring them to scale.

What makes geo-exchange systems particularly well-suited for smart buildings—and how can they help building owners hit their long-term decarbonization goals?

Geo-exchange systems are inherently aligned with the goals of smart buildings because they offer precise, distributed control of heating and cooling demands using the stable thermal energy of the earth, effectively turning the earth itself into a battery. Unlike conventional HVAC systems, geo-exchange systems shift and store energy. When paired with smart controls, they can modulate energy use in real time, respond to grid signals, and optimize for both comfort and carbon performance. This results in cost savings through (a) using less energy overall and (b) reducing use when prices surge.

Erda|deep system showing how it can provide heating or cooling depending on the time of year.

As building owners and operators look to meet ambitious carbon reduction targets, geo-exchange provides a crucial foundation. The emissions reductions are not just theoretical: heating and cooling are typically the largest share of a building’s energy consumption – more than 40% – and geothermal heat pumps produce critical energy savings. There’s a documented potential for geothermal heating and cooling to boost energy efficiency by up to 40% in commercial buildings, meaning that geo-exchange systems that connect multiple buildings and store and share energy based on need at given times allow for those energy savings to be multiplied, possibly across entire communities.

And for Erda, a key aspect of our systems is our analytics platform – called Erda | smart™ – that provides real-time insights into performance, helping the client track energy savings and system efficiency continuously. This makes our systems ideal for smart buildings looking to optimize through data monitoring and efficiency control.

Erda has implemented geothermal exchange networks on university campuses. What makes these campuses ideal proving grounds for community-scale systems?

University campuses are functionally miniature cities: they have a mix of building types, energy demands that fluctuate throughout the day and year, and enough scale to justify shared infrastructure. That makes them ideal testing grounds for community-scale geo-exchange networks. Erda has worked with campuses that connected multiple buildings to a centralized geothermal loop, demonstrating how a single underground energy network can balance heating and cooling demands across diverse facilities, reduce peak demand, and improve resilience.

One such example is our work with Oxford Brookes University in the U.K. The university is working toward a gas-free campus and has chosen to install Erda’s geo-exchange tech to help them get there. We did this through the installation of a bespoke geo-exchange system linking different buildings across campus, utilizing the earth’s stable temperature as a constant battery. Erda’s system was able to drastically reduce the university’s carbon footprint and provide a steady stream of clean energy. There was also minimal disruption to campus operations – and we were able to successfully retrofit older buildings to be heated and cooled by Erda’s geo-exchange system.

The Oxford Brookes University project also illustrates how geo-exchange fits with the goal of making buildings and networks of buildings smarter: the system is equipped with Erda | smart™ monitoring technology that provides data monitoring and efficiency control, allowing Oxford Brookes to track its energy savings and system efficiency in real-time. The Erda team takes this a step further and uses Erda | smart™ as a tool to dive deeper into the systems and develop strategies to save energy further through control changes.

Oxford Brookes University is working toward a gas-free campus with Erda’s geo-exchange system, linking multiple buildings through a shared underground energy network.

How can the lessons learned from campus geo-exchange networks inform how we design and operate energy districts in urban or suburban neighborhoods?

Campus projects help us understand how to optimize shared thermal energy networks in a controlled environment—knowledge that can then be translated to larger, more complex communities. For instance, one of the key lessons is the importance of demand diversity: when buildings with different usage profiles (labs, dorms, offices) are connected to the same network, they can share energy among themselves with minimal input from the grid. The same principle applies in mixed-use neighborhoods, where residential and commercial buildings can offset one another’s peak demands.

We’ve also learned that smart metering and controls are critical to operating these systems efficiently. Just as campuses monitor individual building performance while managing the overall network, energy districts in cities can use digital platforms to allocate energy strategically, reduce peak demand risks, and interface with utilities. Ultimately, the design of geo-exchange networks in neighborhoods will depend on local conditions, but campus systems show that these systems can deliver significant energy and carbon savings at scale.

What do you think are the overall barriers to the adoption of geo-exchange systems? How can advocates and practitioners overcome those challenges?

One of the biggest barriers is simply awareness. Many building owners and developers aren’t familiar with how geo-exchange works, or they assume it’s only viable for new construction or greenfield sites. In reality, it can be deployed in dense urban settings, retrofitted into existing building clusters (as our Oxford Brookes example and others illustrate), and scaled incrementally.

There can also be questions about system costs, which is why Erda developed a financing model to help customers reduce or even eliminate those costs and risks.

As electric utilities get more interested in thermal energy networks, what role do you see for construction and smart building leaders in making those networks a reality?

Electric utilities increasingly recognize that networks can play a major role in decarbonization via drastically enhanced energy efficiency, particularly in managing peak demand and avoiding costly grid upgrades. But utilities can’t build these systems alone. Construction firms, engineers, and smart building operators are the ones who will translate high-level energy goals into actual infrastructure—and who can ensure that buildings are designed to take full advantage of those networks. Collaboration from the earliest design stages is key.

Smart building leaders can also help make the business case. By integrating advanced controls, submetering, and building management systems, they can demonstrate how geo-exchange networks improve not just sustainability metrics but operational efficiency. That data, in turn, helps utilities model energy use patterns and make smarter investments. In many ways, construction and smart building professionals are the linchpin between utility ambition and real-world implementation—and their engagement will determine how quickly geo-exchange networks scale.

What do you see as the future of geo-exchange systems, and how do we get there?

Geo-exchange systems can have a bright future and play a vital role in making entire communities—not just individual buildings—smarter, more efficient, and less environmentally harmful. We have the tools and knowledge to build them. We need to focus on scaling these systems and thinking holistically about heating and cooling beyond individual buildings. That requires commitment at all levels and across functions and industries. Erda is excited to play our own role in forging these partnerships to transform how heating and cooling are provided.

Geo-exchange systems represent more than just an alternative to traditional HVAC—they’re part of a broader shift toward smarter, more integrated, and more sustainable building operations. As utilities look to manage peak loads, as cities aim for decarbonization, and as developers seek efficient, future-proof solutions, geothermal networks are increasingly on the radar. With real-world examples and a growing track record, the insights shared here offer a clear view of what’s possible—and what still needs to happen to make geothermal a widespread reality.