Energy Sources Explained Part 05: Geothermal For House Use

What is geothermal?

While the temperature of the surface of the earth changes with the seasons, the temperature of the ground below the surface does not. At just 2 meters under the ground it is about 15 degrees Celsius all year round.

Locations

Actually nearly anywhere around the planet geothermal works fine. I think there are some conditions that change the 15C at some places to 18C or 12C depending to the geology.

How does it work?

Geothermal heating and cooling works by tapping into the constant heat source that is found at 2 meters below the surface. The system is consisted by three main parts a heat exchanger or simply a loop of pipes buried underground to transfer energy to and from the system, a heat pump mostly located inside the home and a heating and cooling distribution systems, with best option being a radiant floor hydronic heating system. In the winter the system is used by collecting the heat from the earth and pumps it up through the geothermal heat pump to your home. And in the summer the system collects the heat from your home and pumps it to the much cooler earth below your house. Due to the standard temperature of the earth the geothermal systems are at least twice as efficient as air conditioners and fossil fuel based heating systems.

Advantages

 Geothermal heating systems can extract up to six times the heat energy they use in electrical energy.  Geothermal heating and cooling systems have few moving parts, so they are highly reliable.  Failures are rare and minimal maintenance is required. Geothermal heat pumps can be set up to supply hot water as well as space heating and cooling. Geothermal heating and cooling systems create no noise outside the home, and almost no noise inside either. Geothermal is a renewable source of energy for heating, cooling, and air conditioning. There is no pollution caused by home geothermal systems; even in an open loop water system that is properly designed, the small amount of heat extracted from your home during the hot weather cooling system is not enough to cause any adverse effects on flora or fauna.

Disadvantages

These systems can be very expensive to install. Ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 (there are wide variations in estimates from different sources). There may be other energy efficiency upgrades you can do in your home that cost a similar amount but have as great or greater an impact on your energy bill over the next twenty years. Because horizontal systems are the most cost effective, and because of the extensive trenching required for horizontal systems, most geothermal installations require some level of disturbance of the land around your home. Even open loop systems and closed loop pond or lake systems require some trenching to keep the water loop pipes buried below the frost line. 

Tomorrow's article in Energy Sources Explained is going to be a combination of wind solar and geothermal energy for house use and how to save money based on it. If you find my articles useful, feel free to vote and re-esteem.

Source links: 

http://www.green-energy-efficient-homes.com/advantage-disadvantage-geothermal.html

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/a4597/4331401/

http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/homegeothermalenergy.php

And of course the videos that i have linked
 

You can find more articles of mine here: https://steemit.com/@diasdr  

Energy sources explained part 01: https://steemit.com/science/@diasdr/energy-sources-explained-part-01-energy-units 

Energy sources explained part 02: https://steemit.com/science/@diasdr/energy-sources-explained-part-02-coal-history-usage-and-drawbacks 

Energy sources explained part 03: https://steemit.com/science/@diasdr/energy-sources-explained-part-03-wind-power 

Energy sources explained part 04: https://steemit.com/science/@diasdr/energy-sources-explained-part-04-solar