Are you looking for a new way to heat up your home? One innovative way to keep your home permanently heated is through something called Geothermal heating. Geothermal heating is a system of pipes reaching a bit into the Earths surface. A little bit below your home there is much geothermal fluids stored. These fluids can be utilized to heat up your home in many different ways.

Ever since the Roman Empire these tactics have been in use. The empire would gather these hot springs deep in the ground to heat different pools on the surface. These would make their spas and other different things. This was a great tool for them then, and is also a great tool for us now.

You see a lot of geothermal heating systems used in places like Reykjavik, Iceland, Idaho, as well as several other states in the United States. As you can see, these methods have been used for thousands of years and continue until this day. These methods are well tested and produce great results. The great thing is, it really does not take much expertise to accomplish this feat. To control your geothermal heating system, you won’t have to have vast scientific experience.

This is one more way that you can save money in the long run. As soon as you have the system created you will no longer need to worry about electric bills again. Many people never pay their heating bills ever again because they have such a sound system in place. These systems can come in extra handy in places where it can become very cold in the winter. If you are interested in saving money, helping your environment and staying warm, then you should learn more about geothermal heating.

Geothermal power involves the use of geothermal heat from below the earth’s surface to generate electricity or heat. It was Giovanni Contifirst who discovered the process of generating electricity with geothermal heat in 1904 in Larderello, Italy, but geothermal energy has been used for heating and cooling as far back as early Roman times.

Heat from the earth can be used in many ways, from utility-grade power stations to simple heat pumps for residential applications. This heat energy, known as geothermal energy, is a renewable source that can be found almost anywhere worldwide.

The heat continuously flowing from the earth’s interior is estimated to be the equivalent of 42 million megawatts of power (which is equivalent to the electricity that would be used by more than 30 billion homes).

Tapping geothermal energy is a clean and affordable way to generate electricity and heat and avoid the use of fossil fuels.

Under the earth’s crust is a layer of hot and molten rock called magma.

Heat is continuously produced there, mostly from stored heat, friction, and the decay of naturally radioactive elements such as uranium and potassium.

The amount of heat within 33,000 feet of the earth’s surface contains 50,000 times more energy than all of the oil and natural gas resources in the world!

The most common way of extracting energy from geothermal sources is to tap into naturally occurring hydrothermal convection systems where cooler water seeps into the earth’s crust and is heated up before rising to the surface.

Geothermal power plants drill holes into this heated rock to capture this naturally created steam and then use the steam to drive a traditional turbine/generator system to create electricity.

Geothermal fluid temperatures should be at least 300 degrees Fahrenheit, although geothermal plants are operating on fluid temperatures as low as 210 degrees Fahrenheit.

There are three main designs for geothermal power plants: dry steam, flash, and binary cycle. The ideal type of system for any particular site depends on temperature, depth, and the quality of the water and steam in the area. All three systems take hot water and steam from the ground, use the steam to generate electricity, and then return the warm water into the ground to prolong the life of the heat source.

Geothermal power plants are currently generating electricity in over 24 countries worldwide with a total output of about 8.9 gigawatts (which is enough electricity to power more than 6 million homes). The United States is the world’s largest geothermal energy producer with output of about 2.8 gigawatts.

Geothermal power plants require capital-intensive technology. These power plants don’t.

Most people are not aware of geothermal energy, how it works, and the role it will play in our energy future. Although it is one of the lesser known renewable energy sources it is still a viable alternative. In both the Philippines and Iceland nearly a quarter of all energy produced is geothermal electricity. These countries have shown that such systems are completely feasible and in fact quite efficient.

Electricity is generated by extracting water from underground which has been heated by magma. This water is then run next to pipes containing a fluid with a lower boiling point than the water. The water causes the fluid to boil turning it into a vapor which then powers turbines. These turbines are the source of geothermal electricity which is then used to power homes and businesses.

Here are a few geothermal energy facts:

Advantages of Geothermal Power

Only fuel is heated underground water thus its emission free
Constant energy ensures large capacities can be met
Heat extraction is negligible thus unending/sustainable energy source
Land usage is extremely small
Scalable depending on demand for geothermal electricity

Disadvantages of Geothermal Power

Vapor fluid is corrosive and hard to manage
Fluid is kept at low temperature limiting heat engine production
Small amount of carbon dioxide / sulfur emission
Location could cool down after years of use depending of water reserve

Even though it isn’t as well known as a lot of the other renewable energy sources the future is bright for this innovative and efficient method of harnessing the power of nature to do work.

Some technological advances in turbines could make these power plants even more efficient in the future.