By Tim Perry
Geothermal energy systems can drop the average person’s energy costs to one-half or one-third, said Robert Belanger, service manager for Campeau Heating.
“As energy becomes a crisis, as the market and utilities are starting to go up, everybody’s trying to bring their operating costs down,” Belanger said.
The demand is there, especially with high priced fossile fuels and delivery charges, geothermal heating “costs can be quite reasonable."
Geothermal energy systems can cost between $20,000 and $40,000 and the savings can vary from person-to-person, depending on what they had before, said Belanger.
“For example if you have a really old gas furnace, that’s like 70 per cent efficient, then you would come up to a new gas furnace at 95 per cent efficient, you’re saving 25 percent on your fuel consumption right there and (geothermal energy) is better than that.”
Geothermal energy systems use refrigeration technology to send heat to and from the ground. A series of pipes buried six to eight feet and laid horizontally underground are pumped with ethanol and the equipment sends heat between the home and the ground. Belanger said some systems use glycol, however northern winters prohibit using it since the fluid would freeze.
Belanger said the ethanol in the pipes is not harmful to the environment since it is a pure form of drinking alcohol, and would be diluted and eventually evaporate should the pipes break and the ethanol leak out.
Building near a watershed or waterfront means the pipes can be placed at the bottom of the lake instead of being buried. The pipes can also be placed vertically, 100-to-200-feet deep. A diamond drill is used to bore into hard rock and the pipes are inserted into the holes. Belanger said this is sometimes necessary because of Sudbury's Basin.
Belanger said during the summer an air conditioning system would send excess heat to the ground and because of a lower temperature, the excess heat would be readily absorbed into the ground.
When heating a home, Belanger said it’s like air conditioning a home in reverse.
“You’re actually trying to air condition the earth and by doing so, you steal the heat out of the earth and you put it into your house.”
Belanger said the system also provides most of the hot water during this time. The geothermal technology is currently being used in Sudbury's Valley View Public School. Another is currently under construction in Lively.
The Valley View Public School website says it is the first green school in Northern Ontario and has several green technologies. Sandi Ackroid, assistant plant manager for the Rainbow District School Board said the total savings using geothermal energy, is $1-per square foot and the geothermal system for the new school being built in Lively costs $400,000.
Also in the Sudbury area, Wal-Mart has installed geothermal systems.
Belanger said the system keeps their freezers cool and the rest of the building warm by taking the heat from the freezer system, where they don’t want it, and sending it through the building, where they do.
Belanger said the technology could be utilized more than it currently is, mentioning that hospitals and schools can benefit from this system.
