| This is known as "geothermal heat exchange."
Using current technology, a geothermal heat exchange system usually involves a closed loop of plastic or copper pipe through which an antifreeze solution is pumped. In the summer, the antifreeze warms up when it is above ground and cools down when underground; in the winter, the reverse occurs.
The warmed (or cooled) liquid is then pumped into a geothermal unit. In the winter, the heat is compressed and distributed throughout the building, helping to heat it. In the summer, the cooler temperature can be used to pull heat from the house, aiding, or even replacing, conventional air conditioning systems.
The energy derived from this system can also be used to heat water, in place of standard water heating systems. It can also be used to generate electricity for home or business use. A larger installation could also provide sufficient electricity to power electric or plug-in hybrid cars.
The benefits are wide-ranging. They include:
• A clean, renewable energy source for heating and cooling buildings, and for generating electricity;
• Cost savings to home and business owners;
• Reduce demand on the electric grid;
• No new high-voltage transmission lines;
• Decrease - or eliminate - the need for imported oil;
• Create jobs quickly, as homes and businesses add geothermal systems (these are "shovel-ready" projects); and
• Lower carbon emissions, causing less global warming.
Even better, at the times when the demand for heating or cooling systems is at its greatest - the coldest or hottest days - the temperature difference between the air and underground is also at its greatest, meaning geothermal systems can provide the most energy to meet the demand.
Moreover, the jobs that expanded use of this technology provide are the same jobs that have gone away with the mortgage meltdown. Electricians, plumbers - construction workers of many kinds - are currently unemployed, and would be needed to install geothermal heat exchange systems. It's a perfect match.
If this technology is already available, proven with 600,000 installations in the U.S. alone*, economically competitive, environmentally friendly, good for national security, and able to provide thousands of "shovel-ready" projects, why is it not a part of the national discussion? Why is there so much emphasis on wind and solar power, but almost no mention of geothermal heat exchange systems? Could it be because Exxon/Mobil, General Electric, and other major multinational corporations won't benefit? Could it be that their high-priced lobbyists are working to keep the benefits of geothermal technology out of the public eye, and are succeeding?
Whether there is a coordinated effort to keep geothermal heat exchange systems out of the national discussion on energy and economic policy, or whether the lack of attention is simply due to the fact that no major business is pushing these systems in the halls of political power, our national leaders need to hear the truth about this potential boon to our national security and our national economy. That means grass roots organizations, and politically active individuals and groups, need to begin a major push to bring geothermal heat exchange systems to the center of the national discussion.
* "Geothermal (Ground-Source) Heat Pumps: Market Status, Barriers to Adoption, and Actions to Overcome Barriers" available online at:
http://www.geoexchange.org/geothermal/publications/cat_view/85-department-of-energy.html |
