Renewable and Smart Energy Resources

Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy is the heat from the Earth. It's clean and viable. Resources of geothermal energy range from the trivial ground to hot water and hot rock found a few miles beneath the Earth's surface, and down even deeper to the exceedingly high temperatures of glowing rock called magma. Almost everywhere, the shallow ground or upper 10 feet of the Earth's surface maintains a nearly consistent temperature between 50° and 60°F (10° and 16°C).

Geothermal heat pumps can tap into this capability to heat and cool buildings. A geothermal heat pump system consists of a heat pump, an air delivery system (ductwork), and a heat exchanger-a system of pipes covered in the shallow ground near the building. In the winter, the heat pump removes heat from the heat exchanger and pumps it into the private air delivery system. In the summer, the process is converse, and the heat pump moves heat from the indoor air into the heat exchanger. The heat removed from the indoor air during the summer can also be used to arrange a free source of hot water. Many technologies have been advanced to take convenience of geothermal energy - the heat from the earth.