What is the Geothermal energy and uses of it
With all the buzz about renewable energy in the news these days, it’s hard to keep track of what’s what and what does what. One type of energy that’s often confused with solar or wind power, however, is geothermal energy, which gets its name from the Greek word geothermikos, meaning earth heat. If you’re wondering how does geothermal energy work? you are not alone – geothermal energy sounds so exotic that people have many questions about it!
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What is geothermal energy
The term geothermal is derived from the Greek word geo, meaning earth, and the Latin word thermae, meaning heat. The term was coined by Léon Foucault as a reminder of Earth's internal heat and geological activity. So what is geothermal energy? It's really no different than using fossil fuels to produce electricity: it involves using the planet's natural heat flow to generate power by moving fluids through hot rocks deep below the surface. However, unlike fossil fuels, geothermal resources are renewable and do not produce greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. Most importantly, they have been proven clean and safe to use!
The history of geothermal electricity generation
Development of an appropriate fluid - with a low boiling point, a high vapour pressure, and chemical stability - to drive the turbine had occupied much of the previous fifty years. Fowling accomplished this goal with oil. The first commercial installation was an experimental oil-fired unit at Saratoga Springs in the United States in 1885. From 1927 onwards, many additional commercial installations were added, such as Zoutpansberg near Pretoria (in 1926), Bogside near Dublin (1928), Banwell in Somerset (1930) and London’s Chiswick (1931). These were small units supplying local grids where there was limited demand for electricity and transmission lines were not cost-effective or available.
What are the benefits of geothermal technology
With plans to reduce the United States’s dependence on fossil fuels and produce up to 20% of the country’s electricity with renewable energy sources by 2020, geothermal may provide an important part of that picture. Geothermal power plants generally use low-temperature geothermal water for power generation. They typically come in two varieties: dry steam and flash steam. Dry steam works through boiling water until it turns into a vapour then runs through pipes under high pressure which forces it into the turbine and spins it around creating electricity. Flash steam requires more specialized technology but also creates electrical power more efficiently than dry steam so they can be much smaller in size, making them more economical to build while still being able to generate enough electricity for a town or village.
Uses of geothermal technology
There are many different types of geothermal systems: some use a heat pump to transfer heat from inside your home into the ground, while others can be used to generate electricity by tapping into thermal in the earth. Ground-source heating and cooling is an efficient, cost-effective way to provide both heating and cooling for a house. This system uses pipes buried deep in the ground or beneath a building's concrete slab that are filled with fluid. The fluid absorbs heat when it's cold outside, then releases that heat during warmer months. Ground source uses about half as much energy as electric resistance baseboard systems, making it an efficient and cost-effective way to stay comfortable year round.