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How Household Geothermal Energy Systems Work

Google's Dandelion Air offers absurdly affordable, zero-emissions heating and cooling (in certain areas, for now)

By Rain Noe - July 20, 2018

in Sustainable Design

Like a day at the beach, the productivity of a solar panel can be spoiled by rain. More predictable conditions exist underground; dig several hundred feet down and the earth remains at a consistent 55 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the location.

That consistency makes geothermal energy attractive. Here's how it works:

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So you've got no oil required and zero emissions. The key obstacle at this point is cost. But technological advances mean that heat pumps are getting cheaper to produce and now Dandelion Energy, an offshoot of Google, has begun offering their Dandelion Air system for unbeatable prices in the New York area.

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A Federal tax credit of $8,774 and a Dandelion discount of $1,500 means that one of their systems can be installed for just under 20 grand. Should customers prefer to finance, they can get the system installed for just $135 a month--with no money down. And Dandelion Air provides both heating in winter and air conditioning in summer. It seems a no-brainer.

To see if you're lucky enough to live within the qualifying area, click here.

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Clay Atchley

6 years ago

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With solar wind sources to run pumps and fans it become a little closer to Zero Emission. The cooling side has to be miserable unless you add fans to circulate air within the conditioned space, and without some form of evaporator in more humid regions it will feel like you are living in a cave. Payback? Even though I would like to be removed from the fossil fuel accounts, the payback for this thing 1. isn't in my payback period, and 2. its useful life isn't even within the payback period.

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Bastian Lee

6 years ago

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"So you've got no oil required and zero emissions" is not exactly true though because one needs electricity to run the heat pump after all with solar panels typically not providing enough electricity during the winter months.

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