Steve and Jane Eckholm own the Walker Animal Hospital in Walker, MN. Where many beloved pets find medical attention and tender loving care to bring them back to good health. With years of experience and good service the hospital now occupies a three story building, approximately 100 feet by 50 feet, with surrounding walkway, wetland, trees, and a view of Leech Lake near the junction of Highways 34 and 200. Steve and Jane Eckholm are so dedicated to there work that they live at the hospital in the upper story.

Since they needed a bit more room for the hospital, they decided to purchase and remodel the next door 80-year old home and remodel the hospital at the same time. Since Jane was a career professional working for the environment as Director of the Upper Mississippi Headwaters Board and on the boards of several other organizations, she turned to conservation technologies and WERC for her remodeling assistance.

David Winkelman visited the site in the spring of 2004 to analyze the feasibility for geothermal, solar, wind, and other conservation technologies and the retro fit of both the animal hospital and the remodeling of the home next door. The Eckholms wisely chose geothermal as their heating and cooling system for both buildings, replacing the natural gas and backup electric systems that were draining resources unnecessarily.

Geothermal heat pump systems consist of basically three parts: the ground heat exchanger, the heat pump unit, and the air delivery system (ductwork)

Using the Energy 10 Software, Mr. Winkelman calculated a btu per hour of 109,000 btu's per hour at the maximum of 35 below zero, thus recommending a ten ton or 120,000 btu system. This required vertical bore holes rather than horizontal loops because of the lack of real estate options around the buildings to do anything but go straight up and down. The local well driller, Jerry Freeman, did a fine job of installing the inch and a quarter pecks tubing using geoclips in the bore holes. Both the hospital and the home were drilled at the same time. The home required a four ton system so there were a total of 13 geothermal bore holes completed. One header group for send and return lines to the home and the other headers to the hospital. Florida Heat Pumps were used and the heat was distributed to the existing forced air system in the hospital. The system was just commissioned in the spring of 2005, so the performance is yet to be determined. Estimates predict that their heating and cooling bills will be cut at least 50 percent.