Geothermal energy

The geothermal energy is thermal’s energy sub-category, contained within the earth’s shell. The more you climb down to the interior of the earth’s shell, the temperature rises, and, theoretically, the geothermal energy can be used more and more efficiently.

It’s interesting to observe that 99 percent of the Earth’s interior is over 1,000°C, this element suggesting that its interior represents a reusable source of energy which must be exploited in big proportions, deserving all our attention.

The geothermal energy is used at a commercial scale since 1920’s, when the heat of the geothermal waters first began to be harnessed. Also, the water came from the geysers was used to heat up houses or commercial spaces. Judging by the thermal potential, the geothermal energy may have a high or a low potential. The geothermal energy with high potential is distinguishing through the high level of temperatures which it can be found at, being directly transformed into electrical or thermal energy.

Today, the electrical energy is obtained in high power stations (20-50 megawatts), which are installed in countries such as Philippines, Kenya, Iceland, U.S.A. or Russia. The geothermal energy with low potential is distinguishing through the relatively low level of temperatures which it can be found at, being only used for heating, the conversion to electrical energy being impossible.

This type of geothermal energy is even available at the surface of the Earth’s shell, being a lot easier to exploit than the geothermal energy with high thermal potential, fact that represents a visible advantage.

The exploitation of geothermal energy with low thermal potential involves special equipment, made for rising the temperature to a level that permits easy water heating, fact that represents a disadvantage, compared with the high potential energy. The mentioned equipment is composed of heat pumps which function on the same principle as refrigerators, working with electrical energy.

Each day, our planet absorbs solar energy, which is taken in as calories in the soil. This free supply is permanently provided, in conclusion being inexhaustible.

This kind of energy can be easily captured and transformed thanks to a thermodynamic generator: the geothermal heat pump.  

The equipment offers some very interesting performances because, on winter time, for 1KWh of consumed electrical energy, the heat pump gives back between 3 and 5 KWh of energy inside the house. A big part of the heating energy is, this way, assured by a free, regenerative and non-pollutant energy, gathered from the near house ground. On summer time, because of the reversibility of the working cycle, the same equipment will extract the heat from the interior and will inject it into the ground.

The heat pumps are used in ideal conditions within well thermal isolated houses, with a side terrain surface.

The capturing of the geothermal heat can be realized by using different methods, two big categories being available: horizontal installations and vertical installations (geothermal probes).

Thus, with the help of the geothermal heat pump, 1KWh of electrical energy used for the alimentation of the compressor is multiplied into 3-5 KWh of working heat, restored into the house through the heating installation. The heating system’s horizontal devices (mounted in the ground, nearby the house) need a minimal working surface, the capturing area being proportional to the inside space that needs to be warmed up.

Once the capturing devices are installed, the excavation is covered up and the capturing circuit becomes invisible. The terrain above the devices must be free of constructions, permeable to the rain water, snow, sun rays and wind, for the natural soil regeneration (the terrain will not be paved with concrete flagging or asphalted). The capturing loops, once buried, have a durability of at least ten years, without any ulterior intervention. The minimum adjacent surface for installing the loops is somewhere between 100% and 180% of the interior surface that needs to be warmed up, depending on the needed thermal power.  

The vertical installation reckons capturing draw wells. This solution implies the existence of a sufficient (and constant) debit of ground water on a year-long, especially on winter time. The heat is taken from the ground water, usually at a depth of 10-20 meters, there where the water temperature is constant on a year-long. Capturing from the ground water presumes a preliminary study on the durability of the water in the specified area (in case of a movement through the “opened loop”). Another used technique is the immersion in the capturing draw wells of the “closed loop” capturing probes. The vertical installation presumes the using of a “water-water” Termeo heat pump. The interior installation can be found in the house’s floor, with radiators or with any other system that uses water as a heating agent.

The heating through the installation found in the house’s floor: healthy, clean and economical.

The heating through the installation found in the house’s floor: certainly the best system. The warm paving assures uniform heat distribution and doesn’t drain the air. Judging by the design, the arrangement of the interior space can be imagined without any constraints imposed by the presence of the radiators or some other equipment for heat distribution. Unlimited hot water! Hot water is produced in a boiler, which can have a 300 liter capacity. Flexible and precise control of the interior temperature! You can program “comfort zones” in the house, depending on the usage of each room, giving you the flexibility you want for a maximum comfort, with minimum costs (for example, you can define and treat separately zones like living rooms or bedrooms). Minimum exploitation costs! The heating expenditures will be drastically reduced, with as most as 70% in comparison with the traditional gas systems. The prices for natural gas will continue to grow! For each 1KWh of electrical energy, the geothermal heat pumps have an excellent efficiency. No other traditional system can compete with geothermal energy.