How much geothermal power would you need to extract to completely cool the core of the Earth?
All of it.
You can have geothermal power everywhere if you drill deep enough
271–280 of 314 posts
Re: You can have geothermal power everywhere if you drill deep enough
#272Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why do you think that drilling is one dimensional? Drilling at an angle, and even at gradually changing angles is common.
Technically embedded in that case, as your drill line can be represented (often) by a single parameterized function.
Exactly. Unless you plan to zizag around all over the place, most of the reservoir won't be in the near-well region.
Re: You can have geothermal power everywhere if you drill deep enough
#273Earlier quoted context omitted.
I assume you mean “2 guys and some heavy equipment”? As a kid it took me a whole summer of on-and-off digging to make a 1 meter deep hole for fun.
That’s what they mean. My neighbor had one drilled and the contractors showed up with a huge well-drilling truck. It’s just a huge vertical drill with segments you add on as it goes deeper, like an oil well drill.
Correct, it's big but I wouldn't say huge (maybe 4.5x2.5m). This is the machine they used: https://conrad-stanen.nl/nl/producten/boxer-200
Re: You can have geothermal power everywhere if you drill deep enough
#274Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have one of those. The well is 170m deep. Took 2 guys about half a day to drill it, so that actually doesn’t seem excessive in terms of time required (mostly sand, no rock below my house).
Awesome! Do you sink heat into it during the summer, or do you also use it for airco?
Sink directly into it for the summer. Heat exchanger between the source (approx 10-15C) and the water from the floor heating/cooling system. Because the heat pump is not involved it's very efficient (only the power of the well pump)
I'm actually considering if it makes sense to push a lot more heat into it in the summer (Deliberately leaving curtains open, then moving this heat into the well; or even PVT panels), but I'm not sure if the well would retain heat long enough to make a difference towards the winter.
Re: You can have geothermal power everywhere if you drill deep enough
#275Is this really, really renewable? I thought the heat down there was stored from before and will eventually peter out...
We might all be dead by then but hey... not renewable!
Re: You can have geothermal power everywhere if you drill deep enough
#276War is the mother of innovation
Re: You can have geothermal power everywhere if you drill deep enough
#277Earlier quoted context omitted.
The really interesting question might sound even more absurd: did that earthquake release stress that would have been released sooner or (worse:) later anyways? Should people affected by the earthquake thank the family for releasing stress before more accumulate?
Not absurd. Do you think the same might apply to quakes caused by fracking?
That's literally what I've been wondering next. The question marks where genuine, not rhetoric.
(I can't claim that this is always the case with my question marks, so I'm in no position to complain if they are not taken at face value)
Re: You can have geothermal power everywhere if you drill deep enough
#278Earlier quoted context omitted.
Awesome! Do you sink heat into it during the summer, or do you also use it for airco?
Sink directly into it for the summer. Heat exchanger between the source (approx 10-15C) and the water from the floor heating/cooling system. Because the heat pump is not involved it's very efficient (only the power of the well pump) I'm actually considering if it makes sense to push a lot more heat into it in the summer (Deliberately leaving curtains open, then moving this heat into the well; or even PVT panels), but…
It definitely should, I'm not sure making your A/C work harder deliberately makes sense economically, I guess you'd have to do the math. PVT or even just thermal panels (i.e. rolls of garden hose painted black in a glass covered box) would make a lot of sense if you're in a colder climate though.
Your system should give a an overview of your yearly input/output and any drift of the well temperature right?
Re: You can have geothermal power everywhere if you drill deep enough
#279Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not absurd. Do you think the same might apply to quakes caused by fracking?
That's literally what I've been wondering next. The question marks where genuine, not rhetoric. (I can't claim that this is always the case with my question marks, so I'm in no position to complain if they are not taken at face value)
Same. Not a rhetorical question.
Wildfires are the clear analogue. I wonder if it actually works that way. I would guess not. The size and strength of a massive earthquake is just so hard to understand. That the Richter scale is logarithmic is just incredible. A few small quakes here and there seem unlikely to meaningfully detract from its power.
Re: You can have geothermal power everywhere if you drill deep enough
#280Is this really, really renewable? I thought the heat down there was stored from before and will eventually peter out... We might all be dead by then but hey... not renewable!
The sun will run out of hydrogen in ~5 billion years, solar isn't renewable either!