When I wrote Decentralized Energy eleven years ago, I was already very familiar with the subject of alternative energy, even having done a feasibility study for a tidal power project back in the 1970’s. So, I did not discover many surprises as I gathered information for that article. But one thing did surprise me and that was the bigger truth about geothermal energy, so I’m revisiting that subject to see what has developed in the interim.
Like many people at the time, I had a preconception about geothermal energy. I associated it with geographically rare resources such as hot springs, such that only a few places like Iceland might be suitable locations for geothermal energy development. I had overlooked the fact that geothermal energy is potentially available everywhere, given sufficiently clever technology to extract it.
I was surprised to learn that there is enough thermal energy inside the earth to power human civilisation indefinitely. It is effectively a renewable resource. And it is decentralized across the Earth’s surface. Why? Because we live on a giant nuclear reactor! (Have you ever heard that? I wonder why not.) The core of the Earth is hotter than the surface of the sun and has been for billions of years and will continue to be so for billions more years. The thermal energy within the Earth is not merely left over from its original formation. Rather, it is constantly replenished by radioactive decay which generates heat that flows outward from the Earth’s interior to its surface, then into the extreme cold of space. A layer of insulating atmosphere covering our planet keeps its surface temperature near the range of liquid water, fortunately for us.
While the elite pit us against each other in wars for oil, we are standing on a virtually unlimited supply of free energy. Although the energy itself is free, just as energy from the sun is free, there is a cost involved in harnessing it. Technology is required, but we already possess adequate technology for cost-effective decentralized geothermal energy extraction. The reason that we don’t already make widespread use of geothermal energy must be for non-technical reasons; it has not been a priority for industrial capitalists. What has been a priority instead, has been to extract and refine radioactive material from the Earth’s crust so that it can be concentrated in centralized, large-scale nuclear energy plants, consistent with the elite’s modus operandi as described in Decentralized Manufacturing. This approach, as always, enhances their wealth and power, and in this case especially, does so at great expense to the natural environment.
The key technology for harnessing geothermal energy is the heat pump, which is not very new technology; an ordinary air conditioner is a heat pump. Heat pumps transfer thermal energy from a cool zone to a warm zone, requiring proportionately small amounts of mechanical or electrical energy to do so, significantly less than the total amount of energy transferred. They are the opposite of heat engines, which generate mechanical or electrical energy as thermal energy flows from a warm zone to a cool zone.
The ground beneath our feet is a reservoir of thermal energy. In the temperate zones of the Earth where most humans live, the temperature at a depth of 1.5 to 3 meters is in the range 10°C to 23°C (50 to 73 °F) all year round. All that is needed is to circulate fluid through pipes buried in the ground, to provide a cool zone for a heat pump to extract thermal energy from so as to, for example, heat a home. The heat pump lowers the temperature of the fluid in the pipe, from cool to cold. The cold fluid returns to the reservoir where it becomes cool again, due to the second law of thermodynamics, which causes thermal energy to spontaneously flow from a cool zone to a cold zone, thus warming the cold fluid in the pipe. But a heat pump can also cool a home in the summer, simply by reversing the direction of thermal energy flow to the reservoir instead of from it. Thermal energy extracted from the Earth in the winter can be returned in the summer.
The yard of a typical detached home is big enough for the pipe system to interact with the reservoir at a shallow depth. For very small yards, or for apartment buildings, vertical piping may be needed, requiring drilling. In some cases, it may be more cost-effective to build a community-scale facility in the most optimal nearby location, which can service many homes. Generally speaking, it is most cost-effective to install a geothermal system during initial construction, but in many locations even retrofitting is still cost-effective.
Geothermal energy has the potential not only to provide heat and cooling for homes — a significant percentage of total energy usage — but also to provide electrical energy which could then be used to meet general energy needs. This is more technically challenging, requiring larger scale operations, deeper wells, or more favorable locations to be cost-effective, at this time. But we can hope for breakthroughs such that all of the energy needs of a community could be met locally through geothermal energy alone. Can you imagine what might be possible if research and development of geothermal energy became a priority comparable to the efforts that have been directed toward the development nuclear energy over many decades? Until then, a hybrid of eco-friendly geothermal, solar, wind and hydro energy generating systems coupled with strategies for reducing energy needs, such as improved insulation and reduced commuting, can give local communities energy sovereignty while easing the burden on our natural environment.
To give an idea of what the current state of geothermal technology is, here are some recent comments left below this informative YouTube video:
ChrisMax NY 9 months ago
We are about to have a vertical system installed by Dandelion in fact the drill rig will be here on Friday Aug 13th (yeah the old superstition). We are located close to Kingston NY and after a small heating oil leak decided to get out of the fossil fuel business! We checked out mini splits but found the maintenance on 6 interior units to be excessive not to mention the holes in the house walls for the refrigerant and drain lines. Dandelion designed a 5 ton system which requires two holes for the vertical loops. The house is 1920 sq ft and has an open design. We also had to replace the old hot air duct system as it was small and made from ductboard. After seeing the condition of the ductboard it was money well spent! Will update this comment after the drilling and install.
ChrisMax NY 8 months ago
Today they finished drilling two holes 288ft. Very noisy for three days! Waiting for next phase which will be the trenching and going thru the foundation. Can't wait to remove the oil tank and oil along with the furnace.
ChrisMax NY 8 months ago
We've been living with geothermal for three days and the cooling is phenomenal! Dandelion installed a 5 ton Aaon geothermal heat pump but we didn't get the desuperheater as our electric water heater is extremely efficient. However if your household has more than two people the desuperheater will be helpful in providing additional hot water. If you are in the northeast of the US Dandelion is without a doubt the best company to hire to install a geothermal system. All the people from initial contact to the final install and adjustments were respectful and helpful. Their quality of work and attention to detail is top of the line.
Our project involved upgrading our main electric panel to 200 amps and completely replacing the ductwork. We were very happy to so because an electric car is in our future and the ductwork was made of ductboard that was 30 plus years old. These two upgrades added $13,000 USD to the cost of the geothermal project but I consider them to be essential changes that would have been done at some point.
The entire experience of installing geothermal beyond the cost is more like an adventure. The process started with a phone call to Dandelion at the end of April 2021. We had the site survey in June which consisted of taking photos of the entire interior of the house with a 3d imaging camera so Dandelion could design the proper system for our home. Also the site for the drilling and trenching on our property was chosen. Dandelion actually wanted to start drilling in July but I put them off until mid-August which is when the drilling rig arrived. This was the part of the project that kept me awake at night. Both the neighbor's and my wells were very close (50ft) to the drill holes and as a precaution I had tested our wells before the drilling started. The drilling was extremely noisy, heard all over the neighborhood, and took two and a half days. This is the worst and most messy part of the entire project but also very interesting. Trenching to the foundation wall came next which was quiet compared to the drilling and not as bad as I expected. After reading what I consider a hit piece on Dandelion in Forbes magazine which mentioned cracked foundation walls caused by holes needed for the geothermal loops I was apprehensive! Turned out the foundation was just fine after drilling the holes but have the shopvac ready as there will be a lot of concrete dust blowing into the basement as the drill comes thru the wall. The rest of the install was a piece of cake and again Dandelion did an outstanding running the electric, connecting the loops to the geo heat pump, and finishing up cleaning the work site. The outside landscape was left in rough ready to be top soiled and seeded condition as per the contract.
The cost of just Dandelion's part of the project (all in USD) starting with the total: $40,375 - $1750 (discount for paying up front) - $9820 (incentive) Price before tax credit: $28,805 (what we paid) -$7489 (tax credit) Final Total: $21,316
ChrisMax NY 5 months ago
It's December 16th and the system is working without a flaw. Our electric bill has so far been lower then the cost of our old system. We had an air source heat pump that heated the house until the outdoor temp went down to 35 F then the oil furnace would do the heating. So the cost of the required electric and oil was more than the electricity the Geothermal is using. The coldest part of winter is coming so I'll post as to how that works out. Dandelion gave us this handy app to monitor the system and right now the water entering the heat pump is at 43.69 F and leaving it is 40.16 F outdoor temp is 43 F at 6:36 AM there is no snow on the ground.
ChrisMax NY 5 months ago
Dec 21 update: The outdoor temp this morning is 16.9F. Our home is at 72F and the water entering the Geo furnace is at 42.7F the water leaving is 38.9F. That temp difference is keeping us toasty! According to the app this heating season we would have used 78 gallons of heating oil. In reality that would translate to actually using 100 gallons due to the inefficiency of the oil furnace meaning 22 gallons would have just gone up the chimmney!
ChrisMax NY 4 months ago
Update: Jan 11 7:43A ET, 13F outside this morning. Water temp in: 39.77F out: 36.5F Supply air: 90.82F Return air: 69.11 Two wells 288Ft 5 Ton Aaon GEO Furnace Electrical: Jan 347 kwh which is equal to about 7.9 gal heating oil with 78 percent efficient oil furnace about 9 gal. Electric: 347 x .177 (our electric rate per kwh) = $61.42 USD oil: 9 x 3.57 (oil price per gallon) = $32.13 USD. There is electrical consumption with the oil furnace to run the blower.
ChrisMax NY 4 months ago
We are very happy with the system it has met all of our expectations. Our home has been toasty warm this January. Our electric bill is within what we had estimated. I can say without hesitation if one is choosing between a minisplit system and geothermal go with geothermal.
ChrisMax NY 4 months ago
Update: Jan 15th 6:18A ET, 4.6F outside, Water temp in: 40.46F out: 37.23, Supply air: 92.56F Return air: 67.95F Total electrical usage so far in Jan: 512kwh.
ChrisMax NY 1 month ago
The GSHP System has performed flawlessly and the house is as comfortably warm as it was with the oil furnace. Yes the hot air coming out of the registers is at a lower temp than oil but it also is not as harshly dry and it smells fresh. The thermostat setting should be kept at say 68F at night and not 65F. If every morning the house has to be warmed from 65 to 70 the auxiliary or toaster heat would come on which uses a lot of electricity. Our auxiliary heat came on very few times in Jan and it used 9.13kwh which at our utility rate cost $1.79USD. In Jan the GSHP used 1269kwh for a cost of $249USD. In contrast the oil furnace which was about 80% efficient used 95 gallons of heating oil on average in Jan. At $4 a gallon that's $380 plus the electric it used to run the blower. So that amount of heating oil equals 4170.5kwh of electricity! Can't speak to mini-splits but we decided against them because of the maintenance and amount of equipment involved but if you don't have hot air system it's the only alternative.