Monday, February 09, 2009

Drilling For Geo-Thermal Energy

Clean energy systems are the key to our future as a 21st century (and beyond) society. I rave about wind and solar often, but thanks to Dan Jacoby I now have a new model to add to those two. Geo-thermal energy has been around a while in the form of dams but using the temperature-moderation abilities of dirt could revolutionize the way we power our homes, businesses and electric cars.

From The Albany Project:


This energy source actually derives from the fact that while the air temperature gets very hot in the summer and just as cold in the winter, just a few feet underground the temperature remains almost constant. As a result, there is often a large difference between the air temperature and the underground temperature. If the heat from the ground can be made to flow into the cold winter air, and the summer heat in the air be made to flow into the cooler ground, that heat flow can be tapped and converted into a usable energy source.

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.

Sounds simple enough, all we need are the people to build these new systems. Oh, what did you say? We've lost 3.5 million jobs in the last year? Well let's actually utilize the stimulus and put people to work so that we can diversify our nation's energy infrastructure. Instead of those new tacked-on tax cuts, we should replace them with this extremely smart idea.