New Colorado Neighborhood Could Offer Glimpse into the Future of Home Energy Use

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By Phil McKenna, Inside Climate News. 

Excerpt: KEN CARYL, Colo.—A new residential development south of Denver is the testing ground for an unusual partnership that could transform home heating and cooling across the country. Dandelion Energy, a geothermal startup, and Lennar, one of the nation’s largest homebuilders, recently completed construction of nearly 100 homes at the base of Colorado’s Front Range, each equipped with its own ground-source heat pump. The systems use less electricity than even the most efficient air-source heat pumps, potentially helping Colorado meet its climate goals while reducing peak energy demand and eliminating the need for new gas pipelines.  Ground-source heat pumps draw on steady temperatures belowground to help heat and cool buildings. ...Installing the devices across dozens of similar new homes at once also eliminates the need for custom plans for each building and avoids potentially costly retrofits to the buildings’ heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. The end result is a highly efficient heating and cooling system that Dandelion says outcompetes air-source heat pumps and conventional gas heating systems. This is especially true during cold snaps, when energy demand peaks and ground-source heat pumps use a quarter as much electricity as air-source heat pumps, Yates said.... 

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