Geothermal in Iceland: It's Only Natural

• Main Author: Gudmundsson, J. S.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Geo Heat Center Klamath Falls, Or (USA) 1983
• Subjects: GEOTHERMAL ENERGY; DIRECT USE; DISTRICT HEATING; HIGH-TEMPERATURE; LOW-TEMPERATURE; POWER GENERATION; ICELAND; Iceland
• Online Access: http://digitallib.oit.edu/cdm/ref/collection/geoheat/id/2102

If you lived in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, you would heat your home with geothermal water. The city's district heating system dates back to 1930, when 15 lis of 90-100 C water was piped 2.8 km to heat 70 homes, one school and a swimming pool. The Reykjavik District Heating Service is now the largest of its kind in the world. If you were visiting Reykjavik, you would soon discover that the city is geothermally heated. The geothermal water is of good quality and is used directly for bathing and washing. Taking a bath or shower you are likely to smell the water, because of the hydrogen sulphide. Reykjavik is by no means unique in having a geothermal district heating system. There are now many such systems in Iceland; they serve more than three quarters of the total population