[foobarian]

> That is using the earth as a source of thermal inertia, not producing power off earths heat - unless you're going down pretty deep. Again, not power generation.

I get the vibe that your definition of "producing power" is electrical power generation. However the original argument is that there is energy being extracted that is not in the form of electricity.

[grosswait]

Geothermal power generation is energy conversion, while a heat pump is energy movement.

[lazide]

yes. And don’t forget the ‘deep underground and the surface, where there is a useful high temperature gradient’, vs ‘a hundred meters away and with no high temperature gradient’.