The Friends of Fort Steele Society hosted a special Heritage Week open house at Fort Steele Heritage Town Saturday, Feb. 23 as a way to introduce the new geothermal heating installation in the Wasa Hotel building.

The largest of Fort Steele’s 60 buildings, the Wasa Hotel, a replica of the structure once located in Wasa, houses museum articles and archives and is a grand space waiting to be better used.

As part of an environmentally friendly and cost-saving initiative, the Friends of Fort Steele Society worked with M & K Plumbing and Heating of Cranbrook, to install an efficient heating system into the building.

With the installation, the Wasa will become a four-season facility allowing for full public access to museum exhibits, proper maintenance of temperature controls for collection storage and possibly additional use of space made available by this upgrade.

According to Doug VanHooren, of M & K Plumbing and Heating, “geothermal heat pumps are water-to-air systems. By installing piping in the ground the system uses the constant temperature of the earth to heat or cool the water in the piping and supply it to the building.”

The equipment in the building then transfers the heat from the water to a fan coil and the warm air is distributed throughout the building.

Doug conducted tours in the basement of the Wasa Hotel, showcasing and explaining the heating system, while Friends members, dressed in period garb, welcomed visitors with coffee, cookies and information upstairs.

Ian Cobb/e-KNOW

Article Share