What is a geothermal heat pump and how does it differ from conventional geothermal power?

• A. Geothermal heat pumps exchange heat with the ground for heating/cooling; conventional geothermal power extracts high-temperature steam for electricity.
• B. Geothermal heat pumps generate electricity directly; conventional geothermal uses solar input.
• C. Geothermal heat pumps produce oil; conventional geothermal stores energy.
• D. Geothermal heat pumps rely on air temperature; conventional geothermal relies on water vapor.

Answer: (A)

Geothermal heat pumps move heat rather than generate it, using the ground as a stable thermal source or sink to heat a building in winter and cool it in summer. They run a loop of fluid buried underground and a compact heat pump that shifts heat between the ground and the building, powered by a relatively small amount of electricity. Because the ground’s temperature stays fairly constant a few meters below the surface, this heat transfer is highly efficient, giving high performance for heating and cooling without producing electricity.

Conventional geothermal power, by contrast, taps hot underground water or steam to drive turbines and generate electricity for the grid. It relies on high-temperature resources and is designed for power production, not for directly heating or cooling a single building. So the first system is a heat-exchange solution for buildings, while the second is a power-generation method using geothermal heat.