Educating students and the public about Carleton's thermal energy system
Humbleweed worked closely with Carleton College staff and project engineers to create accurate and visually simplified illustrations of Carleton’s low-temperature district energy system. Through the design process and conversations, the team realized an important story element was missing. People needed to understand why the system was so much more efficient, not just how it worked.
The final series of illustrations was woven into a larger story explaining how the new heat pump and geothermal system can capture, recirculate, and store excess heat in the ground instead of releasing it as waste energy. By closing the energy loop, Carleton has met 70% of its annual heating and cooling energy while using boilers and chillers only on the coldest and hottest days of the year. Now that's a fact to write home about!
