Geothermal Energy in Your Home? It Can Happen

It should be noted that the concept of using geothermal energy for practical consumption is not new. Companies were putting it into play nearly a hundred years ago when they used earth-borne steam to power various machineries. This is the basic premise behind the energy—it uses the natural heat of the planet’s core to power whatever needs to be powered. This is an unlimited source, as the Earth will always be producing its own heat and absorbing excess heat from the sun. 

To get the energy, the process involves drilling deep into the ground and using systematic technology to transfer the stored heat into a conductor and then on into a heat pump. Unlike some other forms of energy, much less kinetic energy is spent extracting this heat than is retained by the process. Better still, the process is much cleaner and safer than, say, the process of drilling for shale gas, which has created an enormous amount of controversy even as people hail the benefits of the gas itself. As the technology grows, it has become more and more feasible to use geothermal sources for electricity in the home. In a country such as Iceland, almost 90 percent of the country’s electricity comes from this very source. That number is only expected to grow in the coming years. 

Although the benefits for the environment are staggering, this kind of technology isn’t sold on those benefits. Unfortunately, there simply aren’t enough people who see global warming as enough of a threat to change their ways in any dramatic manner. Unless there are government mandates, it will take much more to get people to switch over from their traditional energy sources. However, that may very well happen. As the costs of installation go down, homeowners will begin to see how much money they can save on their monthly electric bill by doing their heating in this manner. When this becomes common knowledge, expect to see a real groundswell of support for the technology.