The Luxury and Comfort of Geothermal
Geothermal heating and cooling systems are now found all across the U.S., including right here in Greenwich
Even if you don’t habitually follow news about public policy and domestic energy, you’ll likely hear more about geothermal heat pumps in the years ahead, especially if you own residential or commercial real estate. Geothermal innovations have enabled homes and businesses of all sizes to tap into a more sustainable energy source right beneath our feet. Geothermal systems leverage underground temperature to create a consistent baseline temperature inside the house, requiring supplemental heating components to bear the load of merely raising the temperature from there. The broader value proposition for a residential geothermal application is that it reduces the property’s consumption of fossil fuels and the associated carbon emissions.
In June 2021, President Joseph R. Biden authorized the Department of Energy (DoE) to use the Defense Production Act to accelerate domestic production of energy technologies, including geothermal heat pumps (GHPs). A few months later, the President signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes a 30% tax credit for geothermal heat pump projects. And all homeowners will be entitled to up to $4,000 for energy-efficiency improvements made to their homes, including the installation of geothermal solutions.
Within the U.S. Department of Energy, the Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) is tasked with reporting on innovation and market opportunities to the public and to lawmakers. The GTO plans to award $13 million in funding to communities that deploy geothermal systems across entire networks of buildings—homes, businesses and municipal properties.
There are a few general configurations for geothermal systems. They can be closed-loop, open-loop or hybrid by design. They can be horizontal in character or drilled deeper, vertically, under the earth’s surface— at least four feet deep. One of the questions that often comes up in conversation about residential geothermal applications is: Is my lot amenable to geothermal?
It is true that geology and dimensions of the lot will determine the system configuration, but geothermal systems are in place at homes and businesses all across the country, in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The DoE estimates that approximately 50,000 geothermal heat pumps are now installed in the U.S. each year. A certified installer can perform a site assessment and counsel homeowners on the type of system that’s best for their lot and size of home.
From time to time, buyers looking for homes in Greenwich may encounter one with a geothermal system in place, but they’re certainly not the norm. Retrofitting a home with a geothermal system can be an expensive and laborious endeavor, and the upfront cost of installation may not see a return on the investment for many years. According to the DoE’s website, “Even though the installation price of a geothermal system can be several times that of an air-source system of the same heating and cooling capacity, the additional costs may be returned in energy savings in five to 10 years, depending on the cost of energy and available incentives in your area. But local developers and builders occasionally incorporate geothermal systems into newly constructed luxury homes around town. Take, for example, the 2021 custom-built 17,408-square-foot luxury home at 543 Stanwich Road, which has geothermal heating and cooling. The property is offered to the market for $16.995 million. Joseph Barbieri, a Realtor with Sotheby’s International Realty in Greenwich is the listing agent.
Barbieri is also the listing agent for 160 John St., Greenwich, a 1990-built nine-bedroom home on 18.39 acres. The main house, part of an equestrian estate known as “Oldfield Farm,” has nearly 15,000 square feet of living space, kept comfortable all year round by a geothermal solution. The seller is asking $12.5 million for the property, which includes barns, stables, paddocks and a host of amenities like a swimming pool, tennis court, media theater, home gym and wine cellar. In 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy published its “GeoVision” report, which estimated that 28 million U.S. homes will be heated and cooled by geothermal technologies by 2050, reducing the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions significantly—the equivalent of decommissioning 20 million cars each year.