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A source for everyone interested in energy, business and the environment  |
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"...an invaluable guide to a more helpful future..."
-Walter Cronkite |
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GEOTHERMAL:
Geothermal power doesn't just mean the steam erupting from Old Faithful: With today's technology companies can significantly reduce heating and cooling bills using the constant underground temperature in their own backyards. Geothermal systems maintain high efficiency full-time in virtually any climate by sending water through piping a few hundred feet into the ground, where temperatures stay relatively constant. Since the ground is warmer than the outside air in the winter, the system expends less energy to heat a building. During the summer, it works in reverse.
From 1985 to 1990, the number of geothermal systems increased seven-fold to more than 100,000. Today, annual sales of geothermal heat pumps have reached 50,000 units. In a comparison, the U.S. EPA found advanced geothermal heat pumps can reduce energy by 60 to 70 percent compared to standard heating and cooling equipment. Geothermal systems also require less floor space than conventional systems, run very quietly, and demand minimal upkeep.
- Phillips Petroleum has made geothermal heat pumps standard for all of its new convenience stores and filling stations. A geothermal system at the Phillips 66 in Prairie Village, Kansas is connected to coolers, freezers, and the ice maker. It cut overall energy use for heating, cooling, and freezing systems 40 percent with a two-year payback. Texaco and Conoco also have stations with these systems.
- McDonald's installed a geothermal heat pumps at a restaurant in the Detroit suburb of Westland, Michigan, cutting energy costs 20 percent compared to a conventional system. The heat pumps are connected to a heat exchanger consisting of 32 holes drilled 200 feet into the ground. It can simultaneously cool the kitchen and heat the dining room. Working with Detroit Edison, McDonald's used a number of advanced energy efficiency technologies, including efficient lighting, occupancy sensors, and photoelectric sensors to dim the electric lights when daylight is available. Windows are triple-glazed, motors in the cooking fans are energy-efficient, and the building shell is heavily insulated. The combined result is a 40 to 50 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions compared to a typical restaurant.
- The Galt House - East Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky uses a geothermal heat pump to save $300,000 a year in heating and cooling costs compared to the adjacent Galt House Hotel, which is the same size but uses a conventional HVAC system. The system saves 5.6 million kilowatt hours annually, cutting peak electrical demand in half and eliminating 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide. In 1994 the system was expanded to include several waterfront office buildings. The combined total of over 1.5 million square feet of hotel and office space makes it the largest geothermal heat pump system in the world. The system was more than $2 million cheaper than a conventional system. Better yet, its small footprint freed up an extra 25,000 square feet of rentable office space.
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