Geothermal-powered housing development saves homeowners big bucks

From above, the 2,000-acre new housing development just outside Austin, Texas, looks much like any other. Each home has solar panels, but that’s no longer uncommon.

But the Whisper Valley community is entirely unique thanks to what lies below. Far below.

The master-planned community, which will eventually include multifamily units and garden apartments in addition to single-family homes, is built atop an enormous geothermal grid. It’s the largest ever created for a residential community – essentially a blueprint for greener living. It is also saving its residents thousands of dollars in energy bills.

The geothermal grid will heat and cool every home in the community, which, when completed over the next decade, will have more than 7,500 homes. Home construction is still in the beginning phases, with the first homes about two years old, but before any foundations were laid or framing begun, bore holes were drilled in front of every single lot and piping laid to complete the grid.

Geothermal heating and cooling is achieved by accessing the constant temperatures deep underground and then using water to circulate that temperature up above. EcoSmart Solutions, a subsidiary of the community’s developer, Taurus Investment Holdings, built energy centers that send water 300 feet underground to access that moderate earth temperature. 

“If you just traveled down below your feet, 30 to 40 feet, it’s a constant temperature 72 to 74 degrees. Even on the hottest days, it’s 72 to 74 degrees, and even when there’s snow on the ground,” explained Greg Wolfson, chief technology officer for EcoSmart.

The geothermal systems in each home look much like a small furnace box. They are powered by electricity, but since each home also has solar panels, the system will not go off in the event of a power failure. Homeowners can opt for a full home battery backup that stores the solar energy for use at night.

Thurman Homes is one of five builders at the development.

The beauty of the system is that for us as the builder there is very little that has to be considered outside the normal building practices,” said Michael Thurman, president and CEO of Thurman Homes. “The only additional item is the tie-in to the grid itself, which is nothing more than installation of basically a water line going from the house, through the backyard, to the rear of the backyard to tie it in.”

While the system is powered by electricity, it uses far less than a traditional HVAC system, and with the solar package, total energy consumption in the homes is reduced by about 80% according to EcoSmart. The homes, which have a median price of $460,000, do cost about $10,000 more than comparable homes, and the battery backups are an additional cost, but buyers should quickly recoup the cash.

“With the investment of geothermal, the day you move in it’s going to be saving you money. And so we look at it as an investment not as much of a cost increase,” said Thurman, who says his first phase of homes is sold out,…