Alternative Energy Tutorials about Geothermal Energy

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion

ocean wave energy

Ocean thermal energy conversion is a marine based process which generates electrical energy by exploiting the temperature difference between the warmer surface water of the seas or oceans and the colder temperaturers of deeper waters. Ocean thermal energy conversion is a potential source of reliable renewable energy as its sunlight which heats the oceans water with many benefits to the environment creating no harmful emissions. OTEC heat recovert systems operate as cyclic heat engines which uses a working fluid warmed by the seawater to produce a vapour and the cold water to condense the vapour


Geothermal Water

geothermal pipes

Geothermically heated waters have been used over thousands of years for bathing and healing in an attempt to cure numerous health related issues. Geothermal waters are associated with active areas of volcanic activity were rainwater that has percolated down major faults and fractures is heated by molten rocks at great depths in the crust before being returned to the surface naturally to form hot pools and springs. The temperature range of geothermally heated water depends on the heat flow and the geological setting ranging from warm water at low pressures to very hot geyser springs were the water explodes out of the ground at high pressures accompanied by steam


Geothermal Heat Pumps

Geothermal Heat Pump

Geothermal heat pumps are devices used to utilise the energy stored in the ground. The use of the ground and its soil as a potential heat source for heat pumps exploits the vast quantities of solar energy stored in the ground. The ground acts as a seasonal storage element for the suns solar energy and at depths of one metre, the changes in ground temperature is small throughout the year. Depending on the thermal conductivity of the ground soil, ground source heat pumps using horizontal coils of pipes, vertical shafts or trapped groundwater pools extract heat enegy from the ground and use it to heat our homes


Geothermal Heat Pump Technology

Geothermal Heat Pump

Geothermal heat pumps harness the renewable energy sources deep underground for heating and cooling purposes. Geothermal or ground-source heat pumps circulate water or a working fluid around loops of pipes buried in the ground. The water or fluid is heated up by the warm conditions of the soil deep underground before being passed through a heat exchanger to extract the heat to provide space or water heating. By reversing the operation of geothermal heat pumps, the heat of summer months inside a building can be captured and returned back underground in a process called geothermal cooling


How Geothermal Energy Works

geothermal pipes

Geothermal energy works by extracting the free and reliable heat energy deep within the earths core. Today there are different technologies available which can harness this immense, renewable, and low or zero emissions energy resource. Hydrothermal systems are the most common source of geothermal energy production around the world exploiting the hot water and/or steam trapped deep underground in fractured or porous rock formations. Hydrothermal sources can be used directly to heat buildings, greenhouses, and swimming pools, or used to produce steam for electrical power generation. The technology used to convert geothermal energy into an important energy resource for our world is well established and known


Geothermal Energy

Geothermal Coil Ground Loop

Geothermal energy uses the hot water sources from the Earth’s core as an alternative natural energy resource. Geothermally heated water is hot enough to be used for cooking, bathing and is very well suited for home heating and cooling by installing either a geothermal heat pump or a geothermal heat exchanger for direct use as they can work in both directions taking heat from the ground or dumping excess heat back into the ground for cooling.