Cape GeoEnergy –

sustainable energy generation from ambient sources

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) consume a substantial portion of energy in private and commercial buildings. In Europe this accounts for up to 49% of the energy needs and emitting 23% of the greenhouse gases.As concerns about the environmentalimpact of energy generation and uncertainty over future energy prices increase, efficiency improvements in HVAC equipment become more and more enticing. 

In South Africa the relation of energy used for HVAC are even worse, as climate conditions are unfavorably different and technology in use is extremely inefficient.
DHW is usually provided by electric boilers or geysers, even underfloor heating is done electrically and cooling demand is much higher than in northern or central Europe.

South Africa’s electricity supply side also faces several tough challenges at the same time; old and inefficient generation plants, delays in construction of new power plants, rising electricity demand and thus constantly raising prices, outmoded and energy consuming ways of performing HVAC and DHW – with the effect of electricity shut downs if it is either too cold or too hot -, unreliable grid and constantly new delays in the promise to change the situation. So at least for the next 10-15 years the grid will be unreliable and electricity prices will be heading north and this tendency is expected to continue. The overall global viability of geothermal technologies is significantly improving. 

Notably, there has been an upturn in the use of geothermal energy for a wide variety of applications, such as domestic hot water  (DHW), comfort heating and cooling of buildings, commercial and industrial heating and cooling processes. This is significant, as countries will potentially be able to save up to two-thirds of their annual HVAC energy costs. As a result, space and water heating for domestic and commercial buildings has become a mature technology that is being employed in most parts of Europe.
Geothermal (ground-source) heat pumps (GHP) are one of the fastest growing applications of renewable energy in the world. Main advantage is that it uses normal ground-, ambient- or groundwater temperatures as a source of energy.