Valeria García Roa 1B How can we use geothermal energy?

How can we use geothermal energy?
Direct geothermal energy.. We can use geothermal energy in areas where hot springs or geothermal reservoirs are near the Earth's surface, hot water can be piped in directly to heat homes or office buildings. Geothermal water is pumped through a heat exchanger, which transfers the heat from the water into the building's heating system. The used water is injected back down a well into the reservoir to be reheated and used again. The temperature at the Earth’s core can be as high as 7.000 K with pressures up to 360GPa. In other words, geothermal energy has a lot of potential. Geothermal energy has been used for thousands of years in some countries for cooking and heating. It is simply power derived from the Earth's internal heat.This thermal energy is contained in the rock and fluids beneath Earth's crust. It can be found from shallow ground to several miles below the surface, and even farther down to the extremely hot molten rock called magma.

These underground reservoirs of steam and hot water can be tapped to generate electricity or to heat and cool buildings directly.Geothermal energy is generated in over 20 countries. The United States is the world's largest producer, and the largest geothermal development in the world is The Geysers north of San Francisco in California. In Iceland, many of the buildings and even swimming pools are heated with geothermal hot water. Iceland has at least 25 active volcanoes and many hot springs and geysers.

Geothermal heat pump. A few feet under the ground, the soil or water remain a constant 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit (10-15 degrees Celsius) year-round. Just that little bit of warmth can be used to heat or cool homes and offices. Fluid circulates through a series of pipes (called a loop) under the ground or beneath the water of a pond or lake and into a building. An electric compressor and heat exchanger pull the heat from the pipes and send it via a duct system throughout the building. In the summer the process is reversed. The pipes draw heat away from the house and carry it to the ground or water outside, where it is absorbed.
Geothermal power plant. Hot water and steam from deep underground can be piped up through underground wells and used to generate electricity in a power plant. Three different types of geothermal power plants exist: 

• Dry steam plants. Hot steam is piped directly from geothermal reservoirs into generators in the power plant. The steam spins turbines, which generate electricity.
• Flash steam plants. Water that's between 300 and 700 degrees Fahrenheit (148 and 371 degrees Celsius) is brought up through a well. Some of the water turns to steam, which drives the turbines. When the steam cools it condenses back into water and is returned to the ground.

• Binary cycle plants. Moderately hot geothermal water is passed through a heat exchanger, where its heat is transferred to a liquid (such as isobutene) that boils at a lower temperature than water. When that fluid is heated it turns to steam, which spins the turbines.          Valeria García Roa 1B