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[cdn-nucl-l] Re: Re; Geothermal isn't always the answer



And just how much heat is thrown away making that high-quality unit of 
electric power in order to provide 3 to 5 units of low-quality heat 
energy??????  I would guesstimate that it is in the neighborhood of 2 
units...

Ed Oleen

> Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2008 04:45:55 -0500
> Subject: Re: [cdn-nucl-l] " Geothermal isn't always the answer "
> From: Jim Muckerheide <rad_sci_health@comcast.net>
> To: Jaro <jaro-10kbq@sympatico.ca>,
>        CNS list <cdn-nucl-l@mailman1.cis.mcmaster.ca>
>
> Makes nuclear power in Alberta (or anywhere) a no-brainer. :-)
>
> Geothermal heat pumps can therefore eliminate gas and heating oil, 
> propane
> and even coal from space and water heating applications!
>
> Regards, Jim
> ==============
>
> on 1/28/08 11:03 PM, Jaro at jaro-10kbq@sympatico.ca wrote:
>
>> http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/letters/story.html?id=0f7dc424-0f
>> b7-4e3b-ab7f-d101af6a8426
>> Geothermal isn't always the answer
>> Letter
>> January 28, 2008
>> Re: "Demand for geothermal heating up" (Gazette, Jan. 19).
>>
>> Your article says that geothermal heat produces no emissions inside 
>> or
>> outside the house. Unfortunately, geothermal cannot be harvested 
>> without
>> electricity to power the motors. If this electricity is generated 
>> by coal,
>> as in Alberta, then carbon emissions are produced outside the 
>> house.
>>
>> In a geothermal system, one unit of high-quality energy like 
>> electricity is
>> used to recover three to five units of low-quality energy at a 
>> temperature
>> suitable for heating a home. This makes good sense under some 
>> conditions.
>>
>> However, the situation looks much less favourable when you consider 
>> that
>> each unit of electricity energy requires three units of coal 
>> energy. Thus,
>> three units of coal energy, with its carbon emissions, are used to 
>> produce
>> three to five units of heat energy for heating a house.
>>
>> This just illustrates that the value of geothermal energy and its
>> contribution to reducing carbon emissions depend very much on the 
>> local
>> conditions.
>>
>> H. Douglas Lightfoot
>>
>> Baie d'Urfé
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
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