semiweekly genning: Climates Where Geothermal Heating and Cooling Make Sense

Friday, March 29, 2013

Climates Where Geothermal Heating and Cooling Make Sense

Alright everyone, our topic of conversation today is geothermal heating and cooling (as you can infer from the title).? But let?s assume that most of us have a pretty solid understanding of how it works and move onto a conversation focused on where it works best, and if there is such a place.

Just joining in and need a reminder of how it works?? We?ll catch you up before moving on.? Geothermal heating and cooling consists of capturing heat found in the earth to heat or cool a home.? Note that this process also works with water, whether it?s for home use or for a pool.? More or less these systems just collect heat from the ground and redirect it into a home.? The reverse process entails harvesting heat from the air and redirecting it to the ground to cool a home.

Trust us that this is a very efficient system endorsed by many.? Now onto the issue at hand:? where to use geothermal heating and cooling?

The Best Option

It?s an intuitive concept that geothermal heating works best in particularly hot areas.? In fact, I?d imagine that the whole idea was conceived in such a climate.? Then let?s agree that it operates with the most ease in the following areas:? anywhere near tectonic plate boundaries where there?s an elevated level of volcanic activity and resulting hot ground water.

Everywhere Else

With that said, studies have shown that geothermal is the most efficient heating and cooling system across climate zones.? Keep in mind that heat can be extracted from nearly anything but works most efficiently when the object is hot.? This means that even those areas susceptible to extreme seasonal weather, think scorching, blazing summers or harsh, frigid winters, are candidates for geothermal heating.

Why is that?? Because warm water is accessible several feet below the surface across the globe.? Much of Western United States, Iceland, and Japan all have notable geothermal resources found fairly shallow underground.? This warm water can then be extracted with a pump and transferred to a building.? Experts say that in most locations the ground maintains a consistent temperature of 45-75 degrees Fahrenheit.? It does this by absorbing the sun?s heat as it strikes the ground.

Here?s an interesting anecdote:? geothermal heating has even been employed in the exceptionally chilly conditions found in Iceland.? Several cities there use pumps to melt snow and ice on roads and walkways.

So if you?re looking for a more natural method of air conditioning, listen up!? Some areas capture water or steam from nearby hot springs to fuel their geothermal systems.? And in especially hot, dry areas the ground itself can be a heat exchanger.? The system will work better in such hot areas if the rooms are well sealed and insulated so as not to lose the cool air easily.

Selecting the Best System

There is another point to address:? you can further improve the efficiency of geothermal heating regardless of your local climate by choosing the most compatible system.? To do so, consult a professional?s opinion.? Factors such as climate, available space, and soil condition will be considered.? But before that meeting let?s go over the basic options.

You can adopt either an open-looped system or a closed-looped system.? Our first option, open-looped systems, uses water as a heat exchanger; it simply flows through the system then returns to the ground.? The other choice, closed-looped, circulates a substance containing antifreeze through underground tubing, making it a natural match for colder climates.? It can be configured in several ways each of which has particular advantages; for instance, a vertical set-up is ideal for small sites.

Now that we all have a better grasp on the logistics of implementation, we can feel confident that regardless of our location geothermal heating is a viable and wise decision.

By Jessica Christensen

As a prolific writer, Jessica embraces opportunities to increase her beloved readership?s understanding of environmentally friendly practices.? Her hope is that her audience will see that practices such as natural air conditioning are not limited to just air conditioning Utah, but residents everywhere.? If you are interested in reducing your carbon footprint and abandoning traditional appliances which waste too much energy, check out some more of her articles by following her on Google +.