Mastercard credits ground-source heat pump
27th April 2025
USA: Mastercard is to replace its gas heating and cooling system at its global headquarters in Purchase, New York, with a closed-loop ground-source heat pump system.
The system will involve drilling 160, 600ft deep boreholes in the lawn in front of its 4-storey headquarters.
Natural gas is currently responsible for more than half of the company’s direct combustion of fossil fuels. The new system will be powered by electricity from renewable sources.
The design is the result of an energy audit of the existing mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems by global sustainable engineering consultants Stantec. A thermal imaging survey and energy modelling analysis was also carried out.
In addition to the geothermal system, Stantec’s work also included chiller and boiler replacements, building automation system analysis, retro-commissioning, and skylight replacements.
Stantec also identified issues with thermal transmittance and infiltration with the single-pane glass windows. Due to the building’s historic status, replacing the glass wasn’t feasible, so Stantec recommended adding a double-pane insert behind the existing glass to improve thermal performance.
When complete, the combination of the envelope renovation and geothermal system is projected to achieve significant energy savings of 60% compared to current usage.
Mastercard is also developing real-time monitoring and response capabilities throughout its operations to anticipate and adapt to increasingly unpredictable weather patterns, including installing weather stations to track extreme temperatures, heavy precipitation events and their impacts.
