Consulting
Feasibility Studies & Project Reviews
Would you like to know how much it would be to go geothermal in your own home or business, and how to get started? Earthworm tunneling can help! Following is some information about the process and the existing technologies, including a case study of geothermal use:
Geothermal power currently supplies 2,800 megawatts in the United States, which is sufficient for 2.8 million customers, and geothermal production is estimated to increase in the near future. There are countries that utilize this natural, renewable energy source on a much broader scale already. For example, in Iceland geothermal energy is used to provide the majority (86 percent) of all residential heating.
There are several different types of geothermal energy, and several different technologies required to tap into each. Larger geothermal heat reservoirs exist as you get closer in vicinity to the heat of the earth's core. Currently, the technologies do not exist to access this energy, although at Earthworm Tunneling we have been developing several promising ideas for high tech. drilling machinery and procedures that may eventually allow us to do so.
Install a Heat Pump System at Home!
Individual residences today can use geothermal ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) to reduce air conditioning peak loads, winter heating loads, and water heating loads. GSHPs rely on the thermal mass of the earth and subsurface water flows rather than geothermal heat that resides deeper in the earth's crust.
There are about 500,000 geothermal heat pumps in use in the U.S. today. GSHP's are 50-70% more efficient at heating and 20-40% more efficient at cooling, and can reduce electricity use by 25%-60% compared to tradition electric heating and cooling systems.
Case Study:
The Oregon Institute of Technology has used geothermal energy to heat its campus since 1964. Three geothermal wells supply all of the heating needs for eleven buildings, or 650,000 square feet. In addition to heating, a portion of the campus is also cooled using the geothermal resource. The annual operating cost for the system is about $35,000 ($0.05 per square foot per year). This includes maintenance salary and equipment replacement, as well as the cost of pumping itself. This compares to an annual cost of $250,000 to $300,000 for a boiler plant using natural gas.
Please contact our President J. David Reynolds for more information about a consultation for your own home or business.
