Geothermal Heating

There have been records of people using the geothermal energy contained in thermal springs for several thousand years, but today's use, when viewed in the context of the history of geothermal practices, has the potential to be the simplest and most efficient part of a modern, renewable power system.

In antiquity, the most prolific use for geothermal energy was in supplying Roman public baths with hot and often carbonated or mineral laced waters. The rediscovery and use of such springs, still in existence 2,000 years later, during the 19th century is a testament to the durability of not only Roman architecture, but the springs themselves. Today, Terme villages dot the rugged landscape of southern and central Italy.

One of the most prominent examples of geothermal heating in the United States are their use as a tourist attraction, in the form of the Paint Pot Pools at Yellowstone Park in Wyoming. The mineral content and temperature of the pools determines the type of brilliantly coloured cyanobacteria that inhabit the individual pools. The power that makes Old Faithful shoot out of the ground several times a day on schedule is a very dramatic example of geothermal power in action.

The history of geothermal would not be complete without mentioning the use of it as a type of refrigeration for North American pioneers. Settlers would carve giant blocks of ice out of frozen lakes and store them underground, with straw as insulation. In the summer, they'd simply dig out what was left. The constant 40-50F (10C) of the earth in summer and winter made them melt at a slow and predictable rate that could be accounted for with a large enough block of ice.

The island of Iceland is a good example of the modern utilization. With very few trees to speak of and no oil or coal deposits to speak of, the tiny nation only had two resources, the frigid ocean waters that surround them and the geothermal energy stored beneath the otherwise rugged landscape. Today, much of the island is heated and electrified by geothermal power, making Rejyicyavic the cleanest European capital.

The history of geothermal heating in modern practical use outside of Iceland is relatively recent. In the 1980s, groups of American researchers got together and formed a foundation to promote this effectively inexhaustible energy source. It has since proven incredibly effective to simply use the heat of the earth, in areas that are not geothermally active, to simply use the constant temperature that's found just a few inches beneath the soil surface as a heat sink. Homes with closed or open re-circulating pumps allow the mass of your home to be kept at a constant 50F, and far less energy to heat or cool to room temperature (68F or 20C).

As the price of fossil fuels continues to skyrocket, geothermal heating and cooling options are sure to become far more common as an indispensable component of a domestic renewable power system.

Geothermal Heating |