February 2025

HVAC system conversion work is complete in the fire station and the Gulf gas station. The gas station is now receiving heat from the networked geothermal system.

Equipment optimization adjustments are being made in the homes of our residential customers. We are working one-on-one with each customer to meet their system needs. Restoration work at the properties of our commercial customers is ongoing.

November 2024

We continue to make progress connecting all customer systems to the commissioned networked system. Approximately 16 residential, two commercial, and 108 Framingham Housing Authority customers are receiving heat from the geothermal system; customers not yet connected are receiving auxiliary (electric) heat from their heat pump equipment.

We brought the manufacturer of the heat pumps on-site to troubleshoot any technical issues that have come up for our customers and resolve them quickly.

Weatherization work has begun at one of the residential properties and will continue to all participating buildings as each customer is connected to the geothermal system.

HVAC conversion work at the Corner Cabinet is complete; work continues in the fire station and Gulf Gas station. We expect to be substantially complete with customer connections to the system by mid-December.

October 2024

As of the end of the month, the majority of the residential homes have had their HVAC equipment converted to a geothermal heat pump system. We continue to make progress connecting all customer systems to the commissioned networked system. Customers not yet connected to the system are receiving auxiliary (electric) heat from their heat pump equipment. Crews have flushed out all service lines of air and debris, which will help with finalizing these connections.

All pilot participants in the Framingham Housing Authority campus on John J. Brady Drive have been connected to the system. Electrical upgrades and HVAC installation to the community center building continue. Final water and sewer connections were done at the pump house in the Farley Lot to connect the building to public utilities..

September 2024

As of the end of September, two of our borefields are in-service and circulating fluid (Normandy Rd and Rose Kennedy Lane).

Work continues to bring the fire station borefield into service. HVAC system conversions have been completed in 20 residential homes and all Framingham Housing Authority (FHA) apartments.

The first residential customer and the Farley Building are officially receiving clean energy from the networked system. The FHA apartments are currently being brought onto the loop.

We are working to complete the conversion of the remaining 3 residential homes in addition to the FHA community center, The Corner Cabinet shop, the fire station, and the Gulf gas station. Street and sidewalk restoration is still ongoing throughout the pilot neighborhood.

August 2024

The main focus for our crews in August was the final pressure tests, completion of loop controls, and conversion of the Farley building. Our crews exchanged the three rooftop units using a crane, and brought one online with our geothermal system (August 26) – the first of our customers to be receiving energy from the system. Work continues to switch over all electrical, mechanical, and piping equipment to the new geothermal units.

HVAC equipment conversion work in the Framingham Housing Authority apartment units on John J Brady Drive is complete; installation work in the participating units on Rose Kennedy Lane are ongoing. Conversion work is set to begin shortly at the Fire Department, The Corner Cabinet shop, and the Gulf gas station. As of the end of August, 16 residential HVAC system conversions have been completed and three more are in progress. All curb valves are open in the street so there is system pressure to all the homes; as conversions are completed, customer units can be commissioned and balanced for normal operation.

Roadway paving and sidewalk restoration is ongoing in the pilot route. Residents have been made aware of traffic and parking changes as we finalize this work.

July 2024

At the pump house in the Farley lot, our crews have installed the SCADA control panel (which will allow for continuous monitoring of the system performance) and permanent protection bollards around the mechanicals outside the building.

As of the end of July, 10 residential HVAC system conversions have been completed and 3 more are in progress. As each building’s system conversion is completed, our Energy Efficiency team will work with the customers on weatherization/EE work inside the homes.

At the fire house on Concord Street, the upgrade to their electrical system is underway, which will allow us to install a new generator for the building and begin the conversion work.

On John J. Brady Drive on the Framingham Housing Authority property, new HVAC equipment installation in participating residents’ units is nearly complete; work continues on Rose Kennedy Lane.

Street and sidewalk restoration is ongoing throughout the neighborhood; our crews are milling and overlaying streets and repairing sidewalks per city requirements.

June 2024

At the pump house in the Farley Lot, power is on and fluid is circulating through the piping system. The service piping connecting the pump house and the Framingham Public Schools Administration building (the Farley building) was installed at the end of the month. Required inspections are underway ahead of HVAC conversion work at the Farley Building, the Framingham Housing Authority (FHA) Community Center, the Gulf gas station, the Corner Cabinet shop, and the Concord Street fire station.

Residential home conversions continue - our teams are working directly with homeowners, our HVAC contractor – Capital Air Systems, and electricians to ensure professional installations of the geothermal equipment. As of the end of June, crews have completed the conversion of 10 residential homes and 48 FHA apartment buildings. Conversion work is expected to continue through the summer with customer connections to the system starting in July.

May 2024

Paving, site cleanup, and landscaping are ongoing. Crews have begun repaving at the fire station on Concord Street, the top of Rose Kennedy Lane on the FHA property, and the Farley Lot (the three locations where we drilled borefields last year).

April 2024

In-home HVAC equipment conversion work has begun inside the single-family homes within our pilot route. Our contractor, Capital Air Systems, began installing duct work in a home on Hampshire Road earlier this month. In total, Capital Air will be converting 24 participating homes to HVAC systems compatible with ground source heat pumps. We expect that work to continue through the summer.

On the Framingham Housing Authority properties, crews have completed installation of all heat exchanger vaults required to connect the participating buildings to the full networked loop. Work is now being done to install the pumps and electrical in the vaults.

Work at the Pump House in Farley Lot continues. Our crews are building out the internal mechanicals and connecting them to the borefield below the parking lot.

March 2024

Work on the Farley Lot pump house is progressing well. The prefabricated brick building was flown in by a crane and installed on the concrete foundation. Additionally, pipes have been installed to connect the south borefield to the pump house. During this work, our project partners at the Home Energy Efficiency Team installed fiber optic cables with the piping that will help record system function data once the testing period begins.

Crews will now focus on the installation of the equipment and mechanicals inside the pump house that will run the main borefield beneath parking lot and the geothermal system powering the Framingham Public School building.

>On Rose Kennedy Lane, construction work continues for the installation of heat exchanger vaults, headers, and electrical power to the satellite borefield on the Framingham Housing Authority property.

As excavation work wraps up, our team will work with contractors to coordinate sidewalk and street restoration.

February 2024

The borehole drilling has been completed. In total, 88 boreholes (averaging 600 to700 feet deep) were drilled across three locations: the Farley Lot, the fire station, and Rose Kennedy Lane. Over the next few weeks, loop piping will be installed within each hole. 

Construction has begun on the pump house in the Farley Lot, which will house the mechanical equipment needed to properly run the Farley Building and the main borefield beneath the parking lot. The structure is located at the back of the parking lot and will have a footprint of 62’L x 12’W x 11’H.

At the fire station, headers, vaults, and all lateral piping that will connect to the borefield piping under that parking lot has been installed. The parking lot is now being backfilled to return it to the fire department for parking availability. 

The Framingham Housing Authority property has remained a busy construction zone. The crew on Rose Kennedy Lane completed drilling work in mid-February and is now tying in the loops, header, and pumps. Additionally, they are connecting the borefield piping to electrical power, and starting the equipment conversion work inside FHA (Framingham Housing Authority) residential apartments. On John J. Brady Lane, a second crew continues work running underground service lines to the FHA buildings. 

January 2024

Installation of all service lines to our residential customers is complete. Borehole drilling continues on the Framingham Housing Authority property on Rose Kennedy Lane and at the south end of the Farley Lot on Normandy Road. We expect to have all drilling complete by mid-February. At the fire station on Concord Street, crews are in the process of installing laterals, headers, and setting vaults. Our next major construction steps will include building up the pump house in Farley lot and beginning building conversion work. 

December 2023

Service pipe installations are approximately 70% complete; we expect to continue this work through January. Bore field drilling at the fire station on Concord Street and at the north platform in Farley Lot on Normandy Road have been completed. Drilling has begun at the south platform in Farley lot and continues on Rose Kennedy Lane. Additionally, work has begun on the foundation and retaining wall for the pump house in the back of Farley Lot. 

November 2023

Our team has completed main pipe installation, connecting our pilot neighborhood in an underground loop. Borehole drilling at the fire station on Concord Street is nearly complete; next steps include restoring their parking lot/driveway. Drilling on Rose Kennedy Lane and in the Farley Lot on Normandy Road is expected to be complete before the end of the year. Simultaneously, we have begun installing service lines to businesses and homes along the route. Service line and in-home equipment installation will be our focus through the end of December.

October 2023

Main pipe installation is nearly complete. Work on Concord Street is finished. We have now made the loop connection between Concord St. and Lindbergh Road, (where the work began in June). Our final main installation tasks will be connecting Hampshire Road and Prindiville Ave., as well as installing main on John J. Brady Drive for the Framingham Housing Authority (FHA) connection. Main installation work is expected to be 100% complete by early November. Our next steps will include filling the loop piping with fluid and pressure testing the system, as well as installing service piping to customer homes and businesses. Borehole drilling continues and is making good progress at Farley Lot at MassBay Community College and the fire station on Concord Street. Our team will be bringing in a third rig to begin drilling on Rose Kennedy Lane within the FHA complex.

September 2023

We have completed approximately 70% of main pipe installation on our pilot route and are currently working on installation on Berkshire Road, Rose Kennedy Lane, and Concord Street. Borehole drilling continues at both Farley Lot (MassBay Community College on Normandy Road) and the Framingham fire station on Concord Street. Drilling is expected to continue through November. Pre-construction customer home visits have begun. We expect to begin scheduling in-home construction/system conversion in the coming weeks. 

August 2023

Main installation in the streets along the pilot route has surpassed 50% completion. Installation on Concord Street will start soon between Normandy Road and the fire station. Due to its heavy traffic pattern, drivers should expect delays on Concord St. while construction is under way in the area. Drilling for the borefields at the fire station on Concord Street and Farley Lot on Normandy Road has begun. About 90 boreholes, in total, will be drilled 600+ feet vertically to circulate the Earth's consistent temperature throughout the pilot neighborhood. We expect to complete the loop installation and borefields in October. 

July 2023

Main installation continues along the pilot route. Prep and grading of the Farley Lot at MassBay Community College will begin this month. We expect to begin borehole drilling in the parking lot in early August and complete the drilling work before September. A dedicated second crew will be working on Concord Street due to its busy traffic pattern.

June 2023

Construction for main pipe installation began. The first street completed was Lindbergh Road; we will continue installing main along the pilot route side streets throughout July.

May 2023

RH White Construction has been named as the contractor for the project.

Eversource and RH White have a strong history of working together on complex projects across multiple business areas.

Their extensive experience with plastic pipe installations will help to ensure the project is completed efficiently and to the highest quality

September 2022

Test boreholes were drilled in three locations along the pilot route. These tests helped us determine how much heat we can put in and take out of the ground with our networked system and confirmed each location was viable for full construction drilling.