We get questions

The Centre for Energy’s portal is loaded with factual and statistical information about Canada’s energy system. But we still get questions, like this one.

Q:  How do you conduct geothermal energy into a home or businesses?

A:  With low-temperature systems, the water or air depending upon the source, is conducted by pipes to a heat pump where the heat is extracted and circulated through a home or business via conventional duct work. The gathering system and the circulating system are closed circuits totally isolated from each other. The pumps that circulate the water from the source to the heat pump and back are powered by electricity.

In high-temperature systems, the hot water is generally piped directly from the source through a building’s duct work and back to the source and heat pumps aren’t needed. A good description of this can be found on the Office of Energy Efficiency’s website.

Got a question?
Send it to infoservices@centreforenergy.com – we’ll answer it and might even publish it on Flow.