Geothermal Ground Source Heat Pumps
Alternative "geothermal energy systems" are available, yet instead of providing power,
they focus on providing heat and warmth. This heat can be used to heat water for your home, or to simply warm your house.
Geothermal energy systems using ground source heat pumps are different to geothermal power systems. The main difference is
the ground source heat pumps only penetrate the first few meters of ground.Water is usually pumped through one end of a lengthy
piping system, and by the time it reaches the other end the water is of a significantly higher temperature than it was at
the start.The great advantage to geothermal ground source heat pumps is they can be used in many locations. Even snowy regions
such as Norway and Sweden see efficient results when using ground source heat pumps.A geothermal heat pump can be very efficient
in providing your home with a source of low cost hot water. The use of a ground source heat pump with a backup boiler allows
your boiler to use less energy to heat the water than it would have previously. This can save you significant amounts of money
on energy bills for your home or business.
Geothermal Disadvantages
Here are some disadvantages of using
the power of geothermal energy to provide heat for your home or water through the use of a ground source heat pump
The initial cost of design and installation
can be costly, yet this investment would pay off over future years
The area needed to lay the piping system can be quite large, and this may not be suitable for small developments.
These are just some of the disadvantages of using geothermal
energy, yet there are many more advantages which greatly outweigh these negatives.
Disadvantages
Of Geothermal Energy
Geothermal
heat is extracted from deep within the earths surface, and this is the main disadvantage concerning finding a suitable build
location,There are some other deciding factors that may convince a constructor to build a different type of renewable energy
power plant in a different location, such as a wind turbine.So, we have established the main disadvantages of building a geothermal
energy plant mainly lie in the exploration stage. During exploration, researchers will do a land survey (which may take several
years to complete) and then post their findings to the company that contracted the survey.Many companies who order surveys
are often disappointed, as quite often the land they were interested in cannot support a geothermal energy plant. To extract
the heat we have to find certain hot spots within the earths crust, these are very common around volcanoes and fault lines,
but who wants to build their geothermal energy plant next to a volcano?Some areas of land may have the sufficient hot rocks
to supply hot water to a power station, but what if these areas are contained in harsh areas of the world (near the poles)
or high up in mountains. Some very good proven spots have been found in New Zealand, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
The questions that are usually
asked during a survey are; is the rock soft enough to drill through, do the rocks deep down contain sufficient heat, will
this heat be sustainable for a significant amount of time, is the environment fit for a power plant. If the answer to these
basic questions is yes, a more in depth survey should go ahead.
Another big disadvantage
of geothermal energy extraction, is that in many cases, a site that has happily been extracting steam and turning it into
power for many years, may suddenly stop producing steam. This can happen and last for around 10 years in some cases.
Developers of such sites must
be careful and aware that in some cases, harmful gases can escape from deep within the earth, through the holes drilled by
the constructors. The plant must be able to contain any leaked gases, but disposing of the gas can be very tricky to do safely.
Advantages
Of Geothermal Energy
Here
we shall discuss the advantages of geothermal energy regarding geothermal energy plants (power stations.)We can generate geothermal
energy by drilling deep holes into the earths crust pumping cold water through one end and then by the time it rises back
to the surface the water can be hundreds of degrees Celsius which we then use as steam to drive a turbine which drives a generator
creating power. Geothermal energy is one of the best natural energies around.So the first advantage of using geothermal heat
to power a power station is that, unlike most power stations, a geothermal system does not create any pollution. It may once
in a while release some gases from deep down inside the earth, that may be slightly harmful, but these can be contained quite
easily.The cost of the land to build a geothermal power plant on, is usually less expensive than if you were planning to construct
an; oil, gas, coal, or nuclear power plant. The main reason for this is land space, as geothermal plants take up very little
room, so you don't need to purchase a larger area of land. Another factor that comes into this is that because geothermal
energy is very clean, you may receive tax cuts, and/or no environmental bills or quotas to comply with the countries carbon
emission scheme (if they have one).No fuel is used to generate the power, which in return, means the running costs for the
plants are very low as there are no costs for purchasing, transporting, or cleaning up of fuels you may consider purchasing
to generate the power.The overall financial aspect of these plants is outstanding, you only need to provide power to the water
pumps, which can be generated by the power plant itself anyway.
