The Gains of Geothermal Energy for Air Cooling

September 1st, 2010, 10:45 pm

Geothermal energy is defined as the heat made in the earths core since the planets origin. This energy stems from radioactive decay of several minerals under the earths crust and also from the solar energy consumed by the earth’s surface. The energy at the moment, is used in industries, commercial businesses and even in homes for numerous functions and is considered ecologically viable as it makes use of minimum exhaustible resources of the earth. The thermal efficiency of this energy is additionally high as little or no power conversion is needed during its use.

Recently, geothermal energy gains ground as it is being more and more used in heating and cooling of properties and offices. This process uses constant temperature of the earth to heat and cool properties and organizations with 40-70% less energy than standard systems. While normal heating and cooling products burn fuel or consume electricity, the geothermal energy makes use of a much lesser amount of electricity only to pump out heat from the earth and then directly use the heat power for air heating or cooling.

Geothermal businesses provide ground source heat pumps, for air cooling and heating functions, which takes heat from ground or groundwater, therefore lowering carbon dioxide emissions and electricity bills and increasing ecological sustainability.

Ground source heat pumps : Mode of action

Air cooling and heating by ground source heat pumps is a method that is very much in vogue in the developed countries and is attaining a certain level of utilisation in developing nations too. The regular heat of the earth, at about 10 feet below the earths surface area, stays around 50F, which is utilized by these pumps for the purpose. Air or anti-freeze liquids are generally pumped through the pipes that are buried underground and are re-circulated in the household or office building. In summer, the air or the anti-freeze liquid in the pipes of the ground source pumps extract heat from the building and takes it underground through the pipes, thus operating as air-coolers. Throughout winter, it draws the heat from underneath the earths surface area and provides warm air or water to the building.

The ground source heat pumps utilizes a closed loop principle of evaporation of water or liquid refrigerant (which boils at a lower temperature as compared to water and therefore forms steam effectively), compression of the vapour formed and the subsequent condensation of the steam to water/liquid refrigerant for air cooling purpose.

Therefore, in a nutshell, geothermal power is a commendable way of energy utilisation in the modern day world. The merits of its use in the purpose of air cooling and heating are:

1. Geothermal power, being a renewable source, can effortlessly be used over and over again and therefore lessens the risk of energy exhaustion in the future.

2. Due to its sustainability and lesser degree of pollution (its use reduces carbon dioxide emissions in a big way), geothermal energy is considered to be ecologically feasible source of power.

3. This source of energy is cost-effective and energy-efficient, making it trustworthy for future uses.

With so many distinct reasons, there’s no question of why geothermal power is rising in popularity.

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