The new development, located just outside Austin, Texas, boasts a large geothermal heating and cooling system, as well as other features that make the community one of the most sustainable in the country.
As Terry L. Jones explains in his floodlight work, “When completed, Whisper Valley will consist of approximately 7,500 owners and rental homes, as well as a range of $350,000 to $750,000 in prices. The community will also include affordable homes built by Habitat for Humanity.
Residents who already live in the completed portion of the community say they saw significant cost savings in the heating and cooling bill. “Developers call the planet “common sense” by reducing the use of fossil fuels to power homes and businesses here. ”
Not all developer architects in Whisper Valley use geothermal HVAC systems due to the high cost of installing a heat pump that operates around $40,000 per home. Geothermal cooling has existed in some form for centuries, but modern heat pumps cost more than some solar and wind infrastructure.
However, like all new technologies, the costs will decrease as more geothermal projects are implemented, experts say. And while President Trump has targeted solar and wind energy in recent cuts in federal funding, TAC believes geothermal, nuclear and hydroelectric projects are safe so far. According to Bryant Jones, executive director of geothermal rise, a tax credit is required to jump the industry. “There is no technology problem with geothermal, there is a policy problem. (However) it has been around for over 100 years, but it does not support policy in the way the oil and gas industry, the nuclear industry, and more recently the solar and wind industry.”
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