Clean Energy Tips

TIP #15: All the energy stored in Earth's reserves of coal, oil, and natural gas is equal to the energy in just 20 days of sunshine. While desert areas such as Arizona and Nevada get more sun than other parts of the United States, most areas receive enough sunshine to make solar energy practical. bullet

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Geothermal Systems

Thanks to Earth’s relatively constant temperature, geothermal heating and cooling exchange systems offer a highly efficient and cost-effective solution to standard operating systems. Systems can be either closed or open loop systems. By pumping fluid through buried, looped pipes, the fluid is heated or cooled depending on the needs of the building and delivered through conventional ducting. No larger than a conventional furnace, these units can be retrofitted in existing homes or designed to fit new constructions with larger payload requirements. Their heating efficiencies are 50 to 75% higher than standard systems, and their cooling capacity is 20 to 40% higher than available air conditioners. (EPA figures)

It is estimated that the installation of 400,000 geothermal exchange systems each year could reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by over 1 million metric tons of carbon each year, a figure equal to the conversion of a half-million cars to zero-emission standards or planting over a million acres of trees.

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Types of Geothermal Exchange Systems

Geothermal IllustrationClosed loop systems can be laid out (1) horizontally in trenches or (2) installed vertically in a bored hole similar to a well. They can also be installed in a body of water. The surrounding mediums, either earth or water, warm the fluid-filled pipes in winter. A pump moves this warmed water into the home where the gained heat is harvested using a compressor. (3) An open loop system directly pumps water from the water table, a lake or stream. The system extracts about three degrees of heat from the water, then discharges the water back into the water table without consuming or contaminating it.

Things You Should Know About Geothermal Exchange Systems
  • Sales of geothermal exchange systems over the past five years have grown an average of over 22 percent per year, with 1999 growth at 33% (the latest year for which data is available).
  • Geothermal exchange can reduce energy consumption—and corresponding emissions—by over 40% compared to air source heat pumps, and by over 70% compared to electric resistance heating with standard air-conditioning equipment, according to the EPA.
  • Surveys by utilities indicate a higher level of customer satisfaction for geothermal exchange systems than for conventional systems. Polls show that more than 95% of all geothermal exchange customers would recommend it to their friends and family.
  • Geothermal exchange systems have a lower lifecycle cost than conventional systems, even in hot and humid regions where the demand for air-cooling is high.
  • Geothermal exchange systems do not require a flue or chimney. There is less risk of fire, and no chance at all of carbon monoxide poisoning, because there is no on-site combustion.

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