Dan Turner

President

Turner Engineering, PC

Years in current role: 21

What personal or professional environmental effort are you most proud of?

Buildings use approximately 40% of all energy used in the U.S. Turner Engineering is working to promote the benefits of ground source heat pumps (GSHP), commonly known as “geothermal” heat pumps. GSHPs are an electric heat pump that utilizes the earth (or a lake or pond) as a “thermal battery”. GHSPs will reduce a building’s energy use by 35% to 50% compared to typical HVAC systems. By reducing the building load and complementing the system with solar energy, a Net Zero Energy building is within reach at an affordable price. GSHPs have the effect of actually reducing the load on the grid, while providing an all-electric, emission-free HVAC system.

What are you most optimistic about regarding the Rochester region’s approach to environmental issues?

Rochester has been a strong adopter of geothermal. Higher education, nonprofits, and affordable housing have embraced GSHPs for their environmental benefits, efficiency, reduced maintenance, and low life-cycle costs. With the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act, for-profit developers and building owners are also recognizing the benefits. We renovated our 30,000-square-foot mixed-use office building with geothermal in 2016 and have documented a 50% energy use reduction. We recently designed geo for Paychex’s 150,000-square-foot Henrietta campus and DiMarco’s 40,000-square-foot Parrish Street Medical Office Building in Canandaigua. Ultimately, the added cost of the geothermal loop field is more than offset by the reduced load on the grid.

What advice would you give someone who is looking to make a difference in addressing environmental issues?

Sustainability is combination of myriad ideas and concepts that result in the benefits building on each other. For instance, a well-constructed building envelope reduces the size of the HVAC system. A smaller and more efficient GSHP HVAC system uses much less energy, making a roof-mounted solar array more viable and impactful. This all reduces energy and maintenance costs, the load on the grid, and pollutants from power production. Find an idea with a large impact and figure out ways to multiply that effect using other sustainable concepts.

What is your favorite outdoor activity in the Rochester area?

Some of my favorite outdoor activities are Skiing at Bristol Mountain and hiking or trail runs on the numerous trails in our area.

This profile is part of our Power List for Environmental Leaders for 2024. Information used in this profile was sourced from the honoree. View the full list at rbj.net.