Province urged to get serious about geothermal energy
"Former governor general Ed Schreyer says it's time take a major step toward using the earth's natural energy to heat and cool more buildings in Manitoba."
Geo thermal systems can be simply amazing and very easy to understand conceptually. At its center a geothermal system is an air conditioner that can run in forward and reverse modes. i.e. pump the liquids in one direction and heat your house, pump the liquids in the other direction and cool your house.
There are two general types of geo thermal systems and the distinction is important.
Closed Geo Thermal System:
In a closed system a liquid (i.e. distilled water) is pumped though pipes. The pipes run through a heat sink. Heat transfers between the liquid in the closed system and the heat sink.
An example of a closed geothermal system would be a heat pump attached to pipes that are filled with water. The pipes do not allow water to escape and are laid out underground. The pipes can be setup to run horizontally at a specific depth under ground or they can be setup to vertically where they would have a small footprint but would run very deep into the earth. Mathematical equations are used to determine how much heat is transfered frmo the water in the pipes and the ground per foot of pipe length. Equations are also available to determine how much energy is required to move the water through these pipes.
Another example of a closed geo thermal system would be to run these sealed pipes under a river or in a pond that does not freeze during the winter.
Open Geo Thermal System:
An open geo thermal system will use untreated water to transport heat to / from the heat pump. This is not recommended as the untreated water will carry contaminants that over time build up on the moving parts within the heat transfer unit. This will result in additional maintenance costs that can be several thousand dollars every couple of years. The closed geothermal system is almost maintenance free by comparison since the distilled water will not carry any contamniants.
While it may seem counter intuitive to transfer heat into your home from the ground when it is -20 degrees outside there are a couple of points to keep in mind. Several feet below ground the earth maintains a constant temperature regardless of how cold it is outside at any particular moment. Second point is that the heat pump will compress and expand gasses to amplify the transfer of heat from one medium to another.
Geo thermal systems can be simply amazing and very easy to understand conceptually. At its center a geothermal system is an air conditioner that can run in forward and reverse modes. i.e. pump the liquids in one direction and heat your house, pump the liquids in the other direction and cool your house.
There are two general types of geo thermal systems and the distinction is important.
Closed Geo Thermal System:
In a closed system a liquid (i.e. distilled water) is pumped though pipes. The pipes run through a heat sink. Heat transfers between the liquid in the closed system and the heat sink.
An example of a closed geothermal system would be a heat pump attached to pipes that are filled with water. The pipes do not allow water to escape and are laid out underground. The pipes can be setup to run horizontally at a specific depth under ground or they can be setup to vertically where they would have a small footprint but would run very deep into the earth. Mathematical equations are used to determine how much heat is transfered frmo the water in the pipes and the ground per foot of pipe length. Equations are also available to determine how much energy is required to move the water through these pipes.
Another example of a closed geo thermal system would be to run these sealed pipes under a river or in a pond that does not freeze during the winter.
Open Geo Thermal System:
An open geo thermal system will use untreated water to transport heat to / from the heat pump. This is not recommended as the untreated water will carry contaminants that over time build up on the moving parts within the heat transfer unit. This will result in additional maintenance costs that can be several thousand dollars every couple of years. The closed geothermal system is almost maintenance free by comparison since the distilled water will not carry any contamniants.
While it may seem counter intuitive to transfer heat into your home from the ground when it is -20 degrees outside there are a couple of points to keep in mind. Several feet below ground the earth maintains a constant temperature regardless of how cold it is outside at any particular moment. Second point is that the heat pump will compress and expand gasses to amplify the transfer of heat from one medium to another.