10/2/2017 Geothermal Energy: What It Is And How to Use It

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Geothermal Energy: What It Is And How to Use

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Written by David Dawson
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Geothermal energy is a type of energy that is actually pulled from the ground. Deep in the
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base of the Earth are layers of hot water, hot rock and magma. Each of these different
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layers are capable of heating more than just themselves and that’s where geothermal
energy actually comes from. It’s actually a type of energy that comes from the sub layers
of the Earth and provides heat as well as cooling to a variety of different areas.

The heat actually comes from a relatively shallow area and only goes down to about 10
feet or even less in the Earth’s surface. At this range the Earth’s temperature is about 50-
60 degrees Fahrenheit at all times. That means you don’t have to worry about what the
temperature is going to be outside and how it will affect your home. These regions of the
Earth actually don’t uctuate in temperature so you’re always heating or cooling the space
from exactly the same temperature instead of a variety of temperatures.

Geothermal actually means internal heat of the Earth so when you think about that it’s
pretty obvious what you’re getting. But that doesn’t mean that it has to be used only for
heating. It’s actually great to use in the cooling process as well and it helps with the
creation and usage of energy within an area.

The rest of this article will help explain the process by which geothermal energy can be
used for all of these different aspects but for now just know that it actually has a variety of
different uses and it’s completely organic, occurring naturally beneath the surface of the
Earth.
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10/2/2017 Geothermal Energy: What It Is And How to Use It

The uses of geothermal energy

There are many different ways that you can use geothermal energy. One that is becoming
more common (and a lot more environmentally and wallet friendly) is using it to heat a
home. The pipes are put in underneath the house (or business) and drilled down into the
layers of the Earth so that the heat can be put to use heating and cooling the building. The
process that is used to do this is going to be described more carefully below.

Yet, heating and cooling is not the only reason we use geothermal energy. In fact, the most
common use for this type of energy is for electricity. In some western states of the United
States there are wells driven to create a spinning turbine that generates high amounts of
electricity. This electricity can then be sent anywhere it needs to be. Because this is more
environmentally friendly than other forms of electricity generation and is completely
natural it is a lot cheaper than getting electricity in other ways.

 0 So the truth of the matter is that you can use geothermal energy in a few different ways. It
 0 is currently not being used in a lot of different areas (for reasons we’ll talk about below)

 0 but at the same time it’s de nitely considered a great idea. The problem is it’s generally a
good idea in theory and we’ll explain why that is as well. For the most part, there are some
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great bene ts to geothermal energy, but there are also a lot of drawbacks and problems
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that arise when we start to consider this method of natural, highly renewable energy from
 0 the Earth.
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How does geothermal energy work?

Geothermal energy for heating works by creating a system of pipes that reach down into
the surface of the Earth. These pipes consist of a heat pump, some ductwork and
something called a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger can take heat either from the
inside (during the summer) or the pipes (during the winter). This allows the energy to
come into the home or business without the need for traditional forms of heat. This helps
to improve the cost e ciency of the building because heat from the Earth is very
inexpensive (once you set up the system anyway).

Because the center of the Earth is hotter as you get closer to it, many believe that this
process would only work to save money during part of the year. Some may not realize how
it’s going to save money at all. But the fact is that it can save a lot. This is because the
core temperature that you start with is between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

When you’re trying to get warmer in the winter your heater is starting from temperatures
that could be below zero and trying to get up to the correct temperature in your home or
business. This means you have to pay money to get that temperature from 0 all the way up
to 60 or 70. If you start with a temperature of 50-60 this process is going to be much less
expensive.

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10/2/2017 Geothermal Energy: What It Is And How to Use It

Now when you consider this from the other way you can see that starting at 50-60 degrees
is still much lower than the outdoor temperature which could be in excess of 80 degrees.
You end up getting your home or business to the temperature that you want much faster
than you would in a traditional way and you also get to save money because it takes a lot
less energy to cool the air from more moderate temperatures instead of high ones.

If you are going to use geothermal energy as a form of electricity you will need to drill into
the bedrock of the Earth. You need a reservoir that will generate enough steam to power
the turbine or that will generate enough hot water to boil into a steam that will power the
turbine. Either of these methods will create the electricity that is needed and can be used
for other purposes. These methods are still being improved upon but have not even begun
to tap the full potential of heat from the center of the Earth.

What are the advantages of geothermal energy?

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There are actually quite a few advantages of geothermal energy. One of the biggest ones
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is the lower cost involved. Because geothermal energy relies on something that occurs
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naturally in the Earth (the hot core) and that is automatically regenerated (the core will
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stay hot even when air is taken from it) there is no danger of hurting the Earth and the cost
 0 can re ect the renewability of the source for energy. The cost can stay low because it’s
 0 possible to harvest this heat more naturally and for less expense than traditional forms of
Total heating and cooling for homes.
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Another bene t of this type of energy is that you need a lot less energy for the heating and
cooling process. This is because the temperature increase or decrease that is needed,
depending on the present weather situation, is much lower than with traditional methods
which would require the air from outside to be heated or cooled to the desired temperature
for the inside.

Instead, these temperatures will generally only need to be heated or cooled within a 10
degree radius, which allows for a lot less time spent in waiting for this process and far
less expense involved in the process as well.

Geothermal energy as an electricity source is also less expensive because it is renewable

and capable of providing large amounts of electricity in a geographic area. This helps to
cut down on the amount of fossil fuels that are typically burned for the production of
electricity and which are not only harming the atmosphere but are also considered non-
renewable, meaning that they will not regenerate in a reasonable amount of time.

This means that once they are gone they will not regenerate within our lifetime and most
likely not within several lifetimes after we are gone.

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10/2/2017 Geothermal Energy: What It Is And How to Use It

This type of energy also releases no pollution because it’s actually based in water and
steam. So when those components of the heating system are released they don’t affect
the atmosphere and that means fewer greenhouse gasses contributing to the rise in
temperature.

It means that we also around polluting the ground or the water that we need for the rest of
the environment and all the plants and animals that live here with us. It’s important that we
keep the world as clean as we possibly can and by switching over to geothermal energy
this is far more likely and much simpler at the same time.

Another bene t for this type of energy is that it is creating a lot of jobs. Because it hasn’t
been used previously we have to nd new ways to implement it. This means new jobs for
people who can come up with the plans for how to use it, how to get it and what it means
for the world we live in. Al these extra jobs will help improve the lives of many people and
even improve entire communities because they are able to generate those jobs with higher
rates of pay, improving the economy.

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 0 What are the disadvantages of geothermal energy?

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Of course, there have to be some disadvantages to geothermal energy or it already would
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have been implemented absolutely everywhere. After all, these are some great advantages
 0 and you would think they would outweigh a lot of the disadvantages. The truth is that they
 0 do outweigh a lot of disadvantages, but the problem is that they can’t outweigh all of
Total them. That’s why this is still a slow process to take hold and not everyone is getting right
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Shares into it like we might want or hope. After all, we have to weigh out a lot of different factors.

The rst disadvantage is that it needs to be implemented in a variety of different places. In

order to be implemented the equipment, infrastructure and of course employees need to
be found in the area. This is not possible in all areas and it’s often di cult to get the
required items to the area that they are needed in. Also, training needs to be conducted in
order to ensure that, once the staff that are trained leave, the entire system is still going to
be run properly and e ciently, therefore improving the economy instead of wearing down
the environment.

Next, the high cost of putting in the system deters many places and individuals from
wanting to put it in. Sure it’s going to save a lot of money in the long run but rst you have
to get there. Getting the system installed is going to cost a large amount of money
because drilling has to be done down into the sub-layers of the Earth. This isn’t a simple
process and it de nitely requires some hard work and some heavy duty (and expensive)
equipment. Running the system of pipes and connecting it is also not a simple process.

Harmful gases exist below the surface of the Earth as well. These can include a number of
toxic products which can be extremely harmful to the environment and to the people
working in the sites and even around the sites. Anyone that works with active sites (such
as those for electricity) will need to have the ability to contain anything that might come to
the surface during drilling or during the process of harvesting the steam and water that is

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10/2/2017 Geothermal Energy: What It Is And How to Use It

needed to run the turbines. If not, these chemicals could cause extreme problems for
anyone that is too close to the site.

Another thing that may not even be considered by most is that the right concentration of
steam or hot rocks is necessary. In some regions this is not achievable because the rocks
needed are too far below the surface and impossible to reach via normal means.

Some of these regions are not capable of continuing to produce steam either, much as a
volcano will only erupt under the right conditions, these regions under the surface may not
‘erupt’ with enough steam to power the plants and this could be found after the plant has
already been created and established.

In order to make sure that the region is right for a geothermal energy plant, the company
involved has to go through a lot of work determining what is going on below the surface.
They have to understand whether or not the region is going to support a geothermal plant
and for how long.

 0 If they put all this research into a particular area only to nd out it’s not going to work they
 0 are running up extreme costs without getting any type of reward. Even worse, if they put a
factory in the area and then nd out it doesn’t work they’ve lost extremely large amounts
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of money.
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 0 Finally, this type of energy doesn’t transport. That means we would have to have a
 0 geothermal energy factory for every few cities or towns. Unlike fossil fuels that are used
Total for energy and electricity, these types of energy, the steam and hot water, will not be
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area.

This results in less bene ts for the factory that is producing the energy because they can’t
ever expand the business to power larger areas unless they build additional facilities and
factories. One will never be able to power more than a few small areas.

To use or not to use?

All in all there are many reasons that geothermal energy is actually a big improvement
over what we presently have in the way of heating, cooling and electricity. It provides a lot
of bene ts like reduced costs for use, faster/greater temperature changes inside of
buildings, no pollution leaking into the environment from fossil fuels, less reliance on
fossil fuels for anything, improvements in the area of greenhouse gasses, additional jobs
and a completely renewable source for energy that is greatly needed around the entire
world.

At the same time the drawbacks are the extremely high costs that are involved in setting
up such a system and the research and extensive planning that is involved in the entire
process. Not to mention the fact that these types of energy are not capable of making
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10/2/2017 Geothermal Energy: What It Is And How to Use It

large amounts of money for the companies that invest in them because they can’t be
transported and can’t even be installed in every region of the country.

As a result, the disadvantages are currently discouraging most businesses from investing
in this type of energy. This means that adoption is quite slow and will likely be a gradual
process.

In regards to personal use for geothermal energy as a method of heating and cooling
homes and businesses however, this type of energy is de nitely taking off. The initial cost
to implement the pipes and system into an individual facility is somewhat high but the
overall cost savings are luring a lot of people to take that leap and jump in. The fact that
costs for heating and cooling as well as the reliability of that heating and cooling are
better is de nitely bringing more and more people around to this way of thinking and
adoption of this process.

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About the Author

David Dawson
David Dawson is a retired security specialist with over 20 years of experience. He worked for a
secret manufacturing facilities and hospitals in Illinois. David's responsibility was to protect
people in case of any disaster or cataclysm that might occur. Now he keeps on doing it
through teaching others about how to prepare and survive ood, earthquake or even war.

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10/2/2017 Geothermal Energy: What It Is And How to Use It

View all posts

Corey Kim
The world needs more energy sources. Despite being dangerous, it is still a good source of energy. Many
brilliant inventions were considered “crazy” in the beginning.

David Dawson
Absolutely, the world needs more inventors but the world shuns them for some reason. Geothermal
energy is not that dangerous when you consider it.

David Lee
If you are thinking of switching your home to geothermal energy, do careful research rst. Search the
 Department
0 of Energy website if your home is located on a land with geothermal advantages. Talk to
people in your area that have geothermal systems installed. Research contractors installing geothermal
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systems. Make sure the company doing the installing have done several installations over the years.
 0
Check with local authorities on what permits you need.
 0

 0
David Dawson
 Geothermal
0 energy is a good alternative and an affordable one, but you need to do some research rst,
Total both online and on the ground.
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