Source: Flickr
Image: Kevin Dooley
Geothermal power, is energy created from heat beneath the Earth's surface. It's very clean and safe for the environment, yet it supplies less than 10% of the world's energy. It's even extremely price competitive in suitable areas. It is considered a sustainable energy, because hot water can be re-injected into the ground. Iceland's main source of energy is geothermal. New Zealand also considers geothermal energy very important. They're both volcanically active regions.
Source: Flickr
Image: Argonne National Laboratory
4,000 miles deep the Earth's core may reach temperatures over 9,000 degrees Fahrenheit. This heat is constantly flowing outward while heat from the sun is also flowing inward. Both energy sources can be tapped into by pumping water from a well (open loop), or by pumping a heat transfer fluid through a horizontal or vertical circuit of underground piping (closed loop). The fluid absorbs the heat in the ground water or soil and transfers it to the heat pump. The heat absorbed by the fluid is extracted from it by the heat pump, and the chilled fluid is circulated through a heat exchanger repeatedly to extract more heat from the earth.
Source: Flickr
Image: Graeme Tozer
Geothermal energy can be used to heat or cool homes as well as commercial buildings. It can also be used to heat water. A few feet beneath the surface, the earth's temperature remains fairly constant year round, ranging from approximately 44 degrees Fahrenheit in Canada's northern latitudes to 68 degrees Fahrenheit in the most southern United States. Constant temperatures afford extremely efficient heating and cooling. In winter, a water solution circulating through pipes buried in the ground absorbs heat from the earth and carries it into the home. Systems inside the home then heat the interior space with that same energy through standard ductwork. In summer, the process is naturally reversed. Either way, it's more efficient and environmentally superior to transfer heat than to create it through combustion. Homeowners will save between 25 and 50 percent on utility bills as compared with conventional systems. Geothermal systems also require less maintenance.
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