「英中对照」借助地缘交换系统解锁智慧建筑领域更智能、更清洁能源——ASHB智慧建筑协会专访Erda Energy地热专家

Unlocking Smarter, Cleaner Energy with Geo-Exchange Systems通过地缘交换系统释放更智能、更清洁的能源

An Interview with Geothermal Energy Experts, Erda Energy专访地热能专家 Erda Energy

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.地热能不仅仅是一个流行词，它正成为建筑减少排放、提高韧性和更高效利用能源的关键组成部分。为了解地缘交换系统在智慧建筑领域日益增长的作用，ASHB 采访了 Erda Energy 的 Kevin Stickney，这是一家从事从大学校园到社区级网络等各类项目的地热公司。在本次问答中，我们将探讨这些系统的工作原理、优势所在，以及实现规模化推广所需的条件。

What makes geo-exchange systems particularly well-suited for smart buildings—and how can they help building owners hit their long-term decarbonization goals?是什么让地缘交换系统特别适合智慧建筑——它们又如何帮助建筑业主实现长期脱碳目标？

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.地缘交换系统本质上与智慧建筑的目标一致，因为它们利用地球稳定的热能对供暖和制冷需求进行精确的分布式控制，实际上将地球本身变成了一个电池。与传统暖通空调系统不同，地缘交换系统可以转移和储存能源。与智能控制配合使用时，它们可以实时调节能源使用，响应电网信号，并同时优化舒适度和碳排放绩效。这通过(a)整体减少能源使用和(b)在价格飙升时减少用量来实现成本节约。

Erda|deep system showing how it can provide heating or cooling depending on the time of year.Erda|deep 系统展示其如何根据一年中的不同时间提供供暖或制冷。

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.随着建筑业主和运营商寻求实现宏伟的碳减排目标，地缘交换提供了至关重要的基础。减排并非纸上谈兵：供暖和制冷通常占建筑能源消耗的最大份额——超过40% ——而地热热泵可带来显著的能源节约。有记录表明，地热供暖和制冷有潜力将能效提升高达商业建筑的40%，这意味着连接多栋建筑并根据特定时间的需求储存和共享能源的地缘交换系统，能够使这些能源节约成倍增加，甚至可能覆盖整个社区。

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.对于 Erda 而言，我们系统的一个关键方面是我们的分析平台——名为 Erda | smart——它提供实时性能洞察，帮助客户持续跟踪能源节约情况和系统效率。这使我们的系统成为希望通过数据监控和效率控制进行优化的智慧建筑的理想选择。

Erda has implemented geothermal exchange networks on university campuses. What makes these campuses ideal proving grounds for community-scale systems?Erda 已在大学校园实施了地热交换网络。是什么让这些校园成为社区级系统的理想试验场？

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.大学校园在功能上就是微型城市：它们拥有多种建筑类型、全天和全年不断波动的能源需求，以及足以支撑共享基础设施的规模。这使其成为社区级地缘交换网络的理想试验场。Erda 曾与将多栋建筑连接到集中式地热回路的校园合作，展示了单一地下能源网络如何平衡不同设施的供暖和制冷需求、降低峰值需求并提高韧性。

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.其中一个例子是我们与英国牛津布鲁克斯大学的合作。该大学正致力于打造无天然气校园，并选择安装 Erda 的地热交换技术来助力实现这一目标。我们安装了一套定制的地热交换系统，将校园内的不同建筑连接起来，利用地球稳定的温度作为恒定电池。Erda 系统得以大幅降低该校的碳足迹，并提供稳定的清洁能源。校园运营受到的干扰也极小——而且我们成功地对老旧建筑进行了改造，使其通过 Erda 地热交换系统实现供暖和制冷。

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.牛津布鲁克斯大学项目还说明了地热交换如何契合让建筑及建筑网络更智能的目标：该系统搭载了 Erda | smart 监控技术，可提供数据监测和效率控制，使牛津布鲁克斯大学能够实时追踪节能量和系统效率。Erda 团队更进一步，将 Erda | smart 用作深入分析系统的工具，并制定策略，通过调整控制方式进一步节约能源。

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.牛津布鲁克斯大学正借助 Erda 的地热交换系统打造无天然气校园，通过共享地下能源网络连接多栋建筑。

How can the lessons learned from campus geo-exchange networks inform how we design and operate energy districts in urban or suburban neighborhoods?从校园地热交换网络中获得的经验教训，能够如何指导我们在城市或城郊社区设计和运营能源区？

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.校园项目帮助我们理解如何在受控环境中优化共享热能网络——这些知识随后可转化应用于更大、更复杂的社区。例如，关键经验之一是需求多样性的重要性：当具有不同使用特征的建筑（实验室、宿舍、办公室）连接到同一网络时，它们可以在彼此之间共享能源，而只需电网提供极少输入。同样的原则也适用于多功能混合社区，其中住宅和商业建筑可以相互抵消彼此的峰值需求。

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.我们还认识到，智能计量和控制对于高效运行这些系统至关重要。正如校园在管理整体网络的同时监控单体建筑的性能一样，城市中的能源区可以使用数字平台进行策略性能源调配、降低峰值需求风险，并与公用事业企业对接。归根结底，社区内地热交换网络的设计将取决于当地条件，但校园系统表明，这些系统能够在大规模应用中显著节约能源并减少碳排放。

What do you think are the overall barriers to the adoption of geo-exchange systems? How can advocates and practitioners overcome those challenges?您认为采用地热交换系统的整体障碍是什么？倡导者和从业者应如何克服这些挑战？

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.最大的障碍之一 simply 是认知。许多建筑业主和开发商不熟悉地热交换的工作原理，或者认为它只适用于新建建筑或绿地场址。实际上，它可以部署在密集的城市环境中，改造应用于既有建筑群（正如我们的牛津布鲁克斯案例及其他案例所示），并可以逐步扩大规模。

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.系统成本也可能受到质疑，因此 Erda 开发了一种融资模式，帮助客户降低甚至消除这些成本和风险。

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?随着电力公用事业公司对热能网络的兴趣日益浓厚，您认为建筑和智慧建筑领域的领军者在实现这些网络方面能发挥什么作用？

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.电力公用事业公司愈发认识到，网络可通过大幅提升能源效率，在脱碳中发挥重要作用，尤其是在管理峰值需求和避免高成本电网升级方面。但公用事业公司无法独自建成这些系统。建筑公司、工程师和智慧建筑运营商才是将宏观能源目标转化为实际基础设施的主体，也能够确保建筑在设计上充分利用这些网络。从最早的设计阶段就开展协作是关键。

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.智慧建筑领军者还可以帮助证明商业价值。通过集成先进控制、分项计量和楼宇管理系统，他们能够展示地热交换网络如何不仅改善可持续发展指标，还提升运营效率。这些数据反过来帮助公用事业公司模拟能源使用模式并做出更明智的投资。在许多方面，建筑与智慧建筑专业人员是连接公用事业愿景与实际落地的关键纽带，他们的参与将决定地热交换网络的规模化速度。

What do you see as the future of geo-exchange systems, and how do we get there?您如何看待地热交换系统的未来？我们又该如何实现这一未来？

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.地热交换系统可以拥有光明前景，并在让整个社区——而不仅仅是单栋建筑——变得更智能、更高效且环境危害更小方面发挥重要作用。我们拥有建设这些系统的工具和知识。我们需要专注于规模化推广这些系统，并跳出单栋建筑，对供暖和制冷进行整体性思考。这需要各级以及各职能和行业的承诺。Erda很期待在构建这些合作伙伴关系、转变供暖与制冷供应方式方面发挥自身作用。

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.地热交换系统代表的并不仅仅是传统HVAC的替代品——它们是迈向更智能、更一体化、更可持续建筑运营这一更广泛转变的一部分。随着公用事业公司寻求管理峰值负荷、城市力争实现脱碳、开发商寻求高效且面向未来的解决方案，地热网络正日益受到关注。凭借实际案例和不断积累的业绩记录，此处分享的见解清晰展示了可能实现的目标，以及要让地热成为普遍现实仍需完成的工作。

Kevin Stickney is Managing Director at Erda Energy, a company that provides energy solutions, focusing on reducing energy consumption, utility costs, and carbon impact by harnessing the earth’s thermal stability and integrating heating and cooling energy needs.Kevin Stickney 是Erda Energy的董事总经理，该公司提供能源解决方案，通过利用地球的热稳定性并整合供暖与制冷能源需求，专注于降低能源消耗、公用事业成本和碳影响。