6 Responses

1. geothermal energy for home applications isn’t really usable energy in the same way that solar power is. Homes use geothermal “energy” as a way of maintaining a more constant ambient temperature in their home, which means their heating and cooling units don’t have to work quite as hard to make up the difference. Trane has a system and product specs that can probably explain it better.

2. geothermal energy is basically piping water down onto hot rocks and using the steam generated to turn turbines that power the generators. however it can only be done in certain areas, for example iceland uses geothermal energy.

3. Geothermal energy is simply energy in the form of heat that is found in the earth, or underground. If you go a certain number of feet below ground, you reach a point where the temperature is basically the same all year; i.e., it is unaffected by the weather above ground. This temperature is warmer than the average winter air temperature, and cooler than the average summer air temperature. So this comes in handy for people to warm or cool their houses more efficiently using a heat pump (simply put, an air conditioner that can run both ways). In summer, we remove heat from the inside and “dump” it in the outside. However, if the temperature underground is cooler, we can dump more heat there than we can in the outside summer air. In cooler months, a heat pump pulls heat from the cold outside air (what little there is) and deposits it indoors. But with the temperature underground being higher, it is easier to pull heat. These things add up to the heat pump working less hard to do the job. When it works less hard, it uses less electricity. Using less electricity these days means burning less coal. And no matter what method is used to generate the electricity, we conly have so much of it, so using less is always helpful. So that is the basic concept.

4. The earth has a natural temperature that usually differs from the air above it.

   My experience is pretty much limited to geothermal heat pumps. A geothermal heat pump runs some type of coolant through the ground to absorb or expell heat energy. It’s a more efficient way of heating/cooling.

   The downside is the cost. My in-laws just installed one that cost nearly $20,000. The bright side is that they will be getting a $7000 tax credit through the Energy Star program.

   Energy Star offers the same type of credits for solar power as well.

5. Geothermal energy is not really feasible. But geothermal heating and cooling is, and it is available everywhere now. It greatly reduces energy needs for any building. Google it.

6. Geothermal energy is a renewable source of energy. Money does not need to be spent on fuel. It produces no Carbon Dioxide or any other pollution.

   It is a means of generating electricity by pumping cold water deep underground, the heat underground heats up the water that is then brought to the surface and the steam is used to drive turbines that drive a generator to produce electricity.

   Geothermal energy is easier in places where the Earth’s crust is
   thin – the pipes don’t have to be so deep. This makes geothermal energy temperature specific.