COLUMN
Chasing The Elusive Free Lunch
By MIKE ZAGATA • Hometown Oneonta & The Freeman's Journal
When it comes to energy, and most everything else, there is no free lunch. At present, the City and Town of Oneonta are looking at geo-thermal energy to heat buildings and huge batteries to store solar energy. Solar energy and wind power are also being touted as our saviors with regards to climate change.
What do the facts tell us?
Geothermal heat as an energy source is based upon the fact that our earth’s temperature at a given depth beneath the surface is relatively constant and that constant temperature is generally cooler than the surface temperature during the summer.
If you’ve been down inside Howe Caverns in the summertime, you’ll remember being asked to wear a jacket as it’s about 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Thus, if you pump water, often laden with antifreeze, down into the ground and then circulate it back to the surface, the water that returns will be about 55 degrees.
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