Saturday Feb 27th 2010 in The Better Living Center at Exhibition Place in Toronto, on day seven of the National Home Show, Lenzr met Steve Hamoen.

Steve is a geothermal guru.

The word geothermal comes from the Greek language – the root ‘geo’ means earth, and ‘thermos’ means heat.  In modern times the word has come to mean ‘power extracted from heat stored in the earth’ and Steve’s company uses that power to heat houses.

Geothermal energy originates from the original formation of the planet, from radioactive decay of minerals, and from solar energy absorbed at the surface. It has been used for bathing since Paleolithic times and for space heating since ancient Roman times, but is now better known for generating electricit. In large scale power plants this is done by simply boiling water to make steam to propel turbines.

But Geothermal energy is not exactly free power…

A common misconception about geothermal energy is that it just comes up out of the ground in easy to use levels. Sadly, once again nothing in life is free, not even the Earth’s heat.  In this case the heat units that come from the ground are referred to as low grade energy, and they need to ramped up into more viable residential or industrial heating (or cooling) strengths. This usable heat also needs to be distributed to from the source to the areas that require heat and all of that sort of thing requires electricity. But overall the system is part of a bigger, better planet saving solution.

Geothermal power is cost effective, reliable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly, but has historically been limited to only a very few areas of the globe, like Iceland. Recent technological advances have dramatically expanded the range and size of viable resources, especially for applications such as home heating, and in particular floor heating.

The Fire and Ice photo contest on Lenzr is sure to melt minds and set hearts ablaze on the homepage. The contest is probably the most technically challenging request this session, and it will almost certainly ‘go viral’ as friends tempt each other to submit their best fire photography. Already there are some terrific pictures in the index, and you can be certain, more arctic infernos are coming. Contest ends May 1st 2010

The Prize is GeoAir PCO air purifier

GeoSmart’s GeoAir PCO (PhotoCatalytic Oxidation) is perhaps one of the most advanced air purifier technologies available today. Unlike existing air cleaning systems that rely solely on ultraviolet light, the PCO integrates a titanium dioxide semiconductor to leverage photocatalytic oxidation allowing it to vaporize indoor air pollutants, including those that cause odors, and break them down into non-toxic products like C02 and H20. Bacteria, viruses, mold spores and volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) are destroyed when they come into contact with the system’s 187 square-inch Ti02 grid. The system is cost-effective, maintenance-free and provides maximum energy efficiency with negligible resistance to airflow.

The perception of indoor air quality (IAQ) is based on the interaction of a complex set of variables including chemical, biological, physical and psychosocial factors.1 Concern about indoor air quality has been driven mainly by health problems believed to be attributed to exposure to gaseous, particulate and microbial contaminant.