If a space person ever lands on earth – and deigns to speak to us – they will have questions for sure. Do you think these might center on why we caused so much harm to our environment? They might wonder why we destroyed the memories of the past by burning fossil fuel. Especially, when we have unfathomable amounts of geothermal energy beneath our feet.
Geothermal is Waiting in the Wings to Help
In this instance, there’s no need to drill miles down into earth’s magma. Just a few feet below, earth’s energy battery is already measurably warmer. Go into any mine and you may perspire even in the dead of winter.
Modern refrigerants that capitalize on temperature differentials are more intelligent than burning fossil fuel to generate electricity.
A geothermal heat pump uses underground warmth to heat our homes in winter. It follows that when the earth is relatively cooler in summer, we can use heat exchange to cool our airspace too.
If we combine this geothermal method with solar energy, we can keep our homes warm all winter while going completely off grid.
We are confident our space person, if they existed, would approve of this idea after traveling such a distance through space. In the image to the left, a large community array is ready for burying in a deep trench.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers “ground source heat pumps the most energy efficient, environmentally clean, and cost-effective space conditioning systems available … particularly where they are used for both heating and cooling and where the electricity is produced from renewable resources”.
Let’s dwell on the comment about renewable energy sources for a moment. If we power geothermal HVAC off the grid, a remote coal or gas turbine likely supplies the electricity. The carbon emission may be far away, but we will still feel the increasing pain of global warming.
Related
Geothermal Energy Makes Its Mark
Using Solar Power to Cool a Home
Preview Image: Direct Exchange Geothermal System
