Cooling Without the Worry: The Secret Lies in Groundwater

[Anchor]

With temperatures soaring above 30°C (86°F), many are likely worrying about their air conditioning electricity bills. Recently, however, an increasing number of buildings are saving electricity and reducing carbon emissions by utilizing discarded groundwater.

In this installment of Signal, our year-long series examining climate change, Reporter Seo Donggyun explains the details.

[Reporter]

This is a mixed-use complex in Gangdong-gu, Seoul.

As the summer heat sets in, the air conditioning is always running, but there is little concern about electricity costs.

The secret lies in groundwater.

Let us head down to the building's basement.

When the ground is excavated to construct a building, groundwater often springs up like this.

This occurs because water from nearby rivers and streams constantly seeps underground.

While most buildings pump this water out and pay sewage fees to discard it, this building pumps it up and moves it to a heat pump located nearby.

Groundwater maintains a temperature of around 16°C (61°F) throughout all four seasons.

During the summer, the groundwater absorbs the heat from the air conditioner's refrigerant, which warms up during indoor cooling, keeping the refrigerant cool. Conversely, in the winter, it supplies heat that is warmer than the outside air to the heat pump, enabling efficient heating.

This building was the first to apply technology that returns the groundwater used for heating and cooling back into the ground, which also helps prevent sinkholes caused by indiscriminate underground development.

Compared to conventional heating and cooling systems, the energy efficiency is also superior.

[Lee Young-il / Technical Committee Member, Korea Groundwater and Geothermal Energy Association: It is currently estimated that this saves about 50% compared to city gas, and about 30% compared to standard electric air conditioners.]

Cases of using discarded groundwater for heat pumps are also increasing in private homes.

[Groundwater Heat Pump User: Since it costs a lot to heat and cool a large house, I couldn't help but think about the expenses. I am saving more than 40% on my electricity bill.]

Across the country, 13 billion tons of groundwater can be used as an energy source annually.

Experts predict that if just 10% of this is utilized for heating and cooling heat pumps, it would be possible to achieve 20% of the government's greenhouse gas reduction target for 2035.

The government is currently pushing to classify groundwater as a renewable energy source.

Reported by Seo Donggyun | Video by Jo Chang-hyun, Park Jin-ho, and Bae Moon-san | Video Editing by Choi Hye-young | Produced by Kim Do-gyun and Han Seung-ho | XR by Lee Jun-ho and Jeon Yu-geun
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.