Case Study: University of Maine Farmington achieves lower energy costs and carbon emissions with Trane Commercial biomass heating solution

University of Maine Farmington - Customer Case Study

The University of Maine Farmington, part of the University of Maine System, needed to replace aging and unreliable heating infrastructure across its 35-building campus while reducing high heating costs and moving toward its carbon-neutral goal. Trane Commercial responded with a design-build approach centered on a new central biomass heating plant and integrated controls.

Trane Commercial installed a 5,885 sq. ft. Central Biomass Heating Plant with a 500 HP wood chip boiler, backup LP gas, two miles of insulated hot-water piping, and Trane Tracer® Ensemble™ building management system integration. The solution eliminated 390,000 gallons of heating oil, reduced carbon emissions by 4,000 tons per year, cut maintenance costs, and improved reliability; the project is expected to pay back in less than 10 years while also supporting local economic activity.

University of Maine Farmington

Kate Foster

President