USPA technology developed at the São Carlos School of Engineering (EESC) of the University of São Paulo (USP) uses heat exchange between the subsoil and the foundation piles to acclimatize a building’s interior. The new geothermal energy temperature control system will be tested in the experimental building of the Center for Innovation in Sustainable Construction (the CICS Living Lab), which is being built at USP’s Polytechnic School in São Paulo. Similar systems have helped to reduce the energy consumption of buildings in Europe and the USA for at least 20 years. To adapt this technology to Brazil’s climate and soil conditions, engineer Thaise Morais and her PhD advisor Cristina Tsuha, a professor at EESC, carried out a series of field tests and took measurements in São Carlos. The Brazilian engineer earned recognition from the Brazilian Association of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering for her work, winning the Costa Nunes Award for best doctoral thesis defended in 2018-2019.
