Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy Programs

Geothermal Applications

The idea that the Earth serves as a good source of heat is certainly not a new one. Anyone who has traveled to Yellowstone Park has witnessed the awesome display of boiling hot water that surfaces from deep below the Earth's crust. One country which provided early settlers to North Dakota, Iceland, to this day uses geothermal energy for much of its electricity, hot water heat, and domestic hot water.

While North Dakota does not appear to have economically viable geothermal power generation resources, more and more homes and businesses are taking advantage of the Earth's warmth for heating and cooling purposes. As stated by the U.S. Department of Energy, within 10 feet of the Earth's surface it maintains a nearly constant temperature between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Geothermal or ground source heat pump systems can tap into this resource to heat and cool buildings. A typical system consists of a heat pump, an air delivery system (ductwork) and a heat exchanger - a system of pipes buried in the shallow ground near the building. In the winter, the heat pump removes heat from the heat exchanger (well field) and pumps it into the indoor air delivery system. In the summer, the process is reversed to provide cooling.

The ND Dept. of Commerce/Division of Community Services was one of the first states in the country to enter into a partnership with the Geothermal Heat Pump Consortium, Inc., a national organization committed to educating the public and promoting the use of geothermal or ground source heat pump systems. Geothermal heat pump systems are very efficient and therefore, very economical for heating and cooling homes and businesses. While the initial costs are higher than conventional heating and cooling systems, those up-front costs are quickly recovered in energy cost savings.

One of the earliest ground source heat pump applications in North Dakota was at the Buxton School in Buxton, ND nearly twenty years ago. (At last check, it was still operating very well.) One of the newer, and largest, commercial heat pump systems installed in North Dakota is at the Century Center, owned by the ND Workforce Safety and Insurance agency, which also houses the ND Dept. of Commerce. The Century Center will soon be designated an "Energy Star" building by the U.S. Dept. of Energy and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, based on energy efficient design and construction.

Links

The following sites provide additional information on geothermal energy and heat pump systems:

Geoexchange (Geothermal Heat Pump Consortium)
www.geoexchange.com

U.S. Dept. of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
www.eere.energy.gov/RE/geothermal.html

National Renewable Energy Laboratory
www.nrel.gov/geothermal/

Geothermal Resources Council
www.geothermal.org

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