Omg, I'm building in the next year or so and things offered in this video are very expensive. It being offered like this is a wonderful idea. There should be more communities like this.
Hi there! The average price of our homes is under the median cost of Austin homes as Axel mentioned in the video. There are no hidden costs - every home owner in Whisper Valley is told of any costs associated with our development well in advance. EcoSmart charges a flat connection assessment fee for the access to and maintenance of our Geogrid. However, the savings in utility costs because of the solar and geothermal services offset monthly bills in favor of the home owner. Some of our residents with great energy behaviors are actually being credited money each month by producing more electricity that they are using! Pretty cool, huh?
I do not usually comment on videos, but holy cow, this is amazing. I am currently taking a college course in Environmental Science, and we were required to watch this video and discuss it. I am blown away by the use of the geogrid, and affordable housing!! This is amazing.
Microphonix Virtual Studio = too bad our billionairs don’t take as much interest in a positive / progressive clean way to keep NAmerica great & thereby being the first to have the best! Leader of progress ~ Instead they prefer to line their already overflowing greedy pockets with “blood money” from mother natures heart n soul! Fracking her as we speak for MORE! Its not enough! Gives us M O R E!! Destroying the very forests our future depends on and the eco system will forever be destroyed to only get earth unihabitable? Our planet has been put in microspeed & our carbon foot print went up by 500% due to GREED!
Hey it's us! Big thanks to Ask This Old House for featuring Whisper Valley on their show!! Feel free to ask me questions and I will do my best to clarify any confusion about Whisper Valley as a whole!
RedBoxToolsUSA has tried to contact Whisper Valley as an Austin Area Solar Products Company, in order to create a business partnership, in order to supply Solar Products including Solar panels, Solar Kits, Batteries, Inverters, and more
RedBoxToolsUSA , I have geothermal in my home in southern Illinois. I often see return loop temps in the mid 90s in the summer when outside temps are 100+. Is that normal?
I am sooo jealous! I live on a new housing development in Texas and the designing and craftsmanship is atrocious. No sidewalks, leaks in the house, aswell as appliances failing, and a plethora of other things. Great showcase though anyhow!
I toured this place the other day. The homes are very cookie cutter, and they're right next to each-other, but solar, geothermal and google fiber installed on a new, energy effecient home - thats hard to beat.
I am a plumer this project with geothermal it is wery well done nice to see USA make smart change , in my Country Romania we buy geothermal pump but they are so expensive .
@@whispervalleydavid2940 i googled exactly "Homes by Avi and Pacesetter" - Sorry i did that again and now i see it. My apologies. I will go thru this in detail. Thx for your direction.
Whisper Valley potentially has a 25 year development ahead of it - as we work on streamlining all of our current processes, we can potentially implement more features such as rainwater collection into the works. Our Discovery Center is equipped with Zero Mass panels...I'd look at those if you're interested in water conservation!
One problem with geothermal is that it refers to two very different technologies. The kind they were talking about uses dirt as a heat sink and can be used anywhere, but the other kind uses underground volcanic activity to boil water, which can then be used to generate electricity, etc. This only works if you live on a volcano (or a future volcano).
This doesn't not only work if you live on a volcano lol. This is a thermal exchange system. You remove BTU's from the home via the ground source heat pump and access to a 350ft deep closed loop inside a well in an easement in the backyard. They do not advertise the generation of energy through geothermal - they combine the thermal exchange system with the solar generation to create a very efficient system.
Okay, I'm so conditioned by my movie and t.v. viewing history. As soon as I heard this guy's German accent, I immediately thought that he was up to something nefarious, and the entire housing development on display was just a front for an actual underground death ray lab that would be used to conquer the world.
My wife's nephews went to a school in upstate Pennsylvania that had geothermal heating and air. The entire line system is under the athletic fields. They also put in an environmental area and show how to slow runoff from rain. Absolutely terrific. This community idea needs to take hold around the country. I'm not one for regulations, however if new developments are being built I think these should be considered or mandated.
I actually visited these homes when looking for my first house in the Austin area and just the monthly fee for maintaining that geothermal system had me running back to a traditional builder.
Jose Carnero how much were the monthly fees?? people are saying their electrics were around 48-70 a month, which doesn’t sound bad. but there were a lot of people talking about hoa’s which i don’t understand. (curious teenager, not an actual adult)
@Bank! that's 600 a year, at my current community it's 350, and they still have a very nice pool, playground and recreational area. That also doesn't include all the maintenance fees
@@eloycarnero Hi there - according to research performed by Trulia (www.trulia.com/research/hoa-fees/), the national average for HOA MONTHLY fees was $331 in 2015.
Net Zero and Passive House construction techniques are the future. Saving energy saves money on utilities. Air sealing, great insulation, super efficient heating and air conditioning, LED lighting systems, Triple pane windows and European style triple seal doors, Solar panels with battery storage and an electric vehicle charger in the garage. Air sealing and blower door testing is an under appreciated energy saver.
I love a lot of the videos TOH puts out, and I especially love this recent focus on efficiency/sustainability. BUT: as important as the construction methods and materials are, location and zoning have an equal (if not greater) role in making homes/communities more energy efficient and 'greener'. Seeing this...pod of houses out in a typical suburban sprawl just reinforces how important old downtowns and small towns are to making homes livable and affordable. Still, a great video, and I look forward to seeing where this design philosophy goes.
happy to install your solar or electrical on your new or existing home Call CRsolar and Electrical in Pflugerville. I didn't realize this area had geo thermal heatpumps very cool, we can do solar more affordable typically. with the top products.
Probably even better than german civil engineers, austrian engineers. You should see them austrians building with their climate conditions... I´not a civil engineerig or builder, but as an engineer I was amazed.
@@LoggyWD Very Wrong, I live in a house with the same system in The Netherlands, it works perfectly. Our whole neighbourhood is built like this. They started building around 2012, they're still building new houses, they're very much in demand. I save a lot of money with this system.
Yes, I'm saying hi from The Netherlands. We got similar projects over here which already started in 2012. I live in a big new neighborhood like this where they started building around 2012. They're still building new houses as they're in high demand. It works like a charm and I save a lot of money with the electricity bills. (And we don't have, or need, gas)
@@LoggyWD Hi there and others! EcoSmart Solution formed a joint venture with Shell Renewable Energies in May and Whisper Valley is doing very well. Two more builders came into the development in May for a total of 5 builders now. Things are moving along! :)
We LOVE "This Old House" and this video! And we LOVE "Net Zero Energy" so much that our new home - that we will start building in +/- 30 days - waiting for the building permit from city - is going to be "beyond" #NetZeroEnergy by about 120% according to our Architect who told us about this video. So we're actually going to have a "Net Positive Energy" home when completed - and we are NOT connecting to the local electric utility! Our new home will have an "integrated Net Positive Energy" system that has Geothermal for our cooling and heating (#GroundSourceHeatPumps) PLUS a Rooftop PV solar energy system (each panel rated at 380 watts) PLUS #BatteryEnergyStorage using #LithiumIRonBatteries (Not "ion" but #iRon!) And yes, we're super-excited about NEVER ever getting another electric utility bill!
I wish I could send this to all...in the world! Your an example for all as is all the Whisper Valleys in the world! To see what maybe NOT everyone can or could but if we did it as a ‘Joint venture’ even if not a new build - we are Smart, educated and surely can make cleaner, simpler, slower lifestyle and enjoy our planet before it is too late! Its true everything in this world worth keeping is free and easily obtained!
JesusIsTheSonOfGod ~ I was thinking of 5G + how all will be monitored, kinda like Jesus, probably does, just talking about Holy Mothers’ message @ Medjugorji, Croatia, she was sent by God, as her son, who loves us so much, wants us to know we need to make scarifices + pray the rosary, she had bad news, about our days ahead, otherwise, caused by our actions/even our thoughts were creating! By changing that which motivates us being=greed, hate and materialism, but instead...we’re to be sure our motivations for doing comes from a place of love of all, + that LOVE is our only driving force, in everything we do from now on! We have way more than Covid-19 and climate change to worry about - *I therefore will try to send + give positive + kind responses + have good thoughts, vibes to all responsible for the evil done on this planet! I’m not perfect and may fail...so am sending ...❤️ to all who are doing their part making costly ecofriendly changes, conversations, news, let us know - how or what you or someone is doing to make the world energy crises, more eco friendly, we need all the Hope we can get❣️
I always thought a layout idea of that would be cute have the front yard like a backyard and all connected so your kids can run around with other kids and won’t have to worry about getting worried and the backyard as a front yard where you pull in
So basically you have your usual utilities like gas, water, electricity, etc. but with this this model of infrastructure you have one additional fee to pay for the geothermal. But because you should have lower electricity costs due to having solar panels it sounds like it would kinda work out to be not any cheaper nor more expensive than another neighbourhood of the same general value.
This is actually a pretty good analysis! Electricity does tend to be a little bit less even if you combine the geothermal assessment fee with your electricity bill in our experience.
Holy $#!T *!* I live in a typical NZ suburban area. Nothing fancy, not in a city. Just weatherboard homes and all. The avg. is *$500,000* for a regular house. No 2nd storey, 1970's to 1990's mostly. When can I move to America?? That's not even the city... I have no idea how I could live. 🤔🤔
250 to 400,000 dollars and 1500 square feet + Thousand sure that’s affordable single family housing and there’s never been a health problem with foam insulation NOT My 60s Long Island House at 1250 sqft has a total utility cost of 185 dollars a month is plenty big for most families and the only cost was putting in modern windows,house wrap and better attic insulation
very good these innovations are important mainly for the country as our Mozambique should be installed in our beaches where there is lot of demand of tourist establishments.
This is excellent to see. Texas should be taking advantage of the weather by utilizing more solar. It's baffling they don't already...or it's simply corruption of sorts. Love the European engineering take on building communities, efficiency!
I wonder how much condensation is picked up in that tray under the fancy heat exchanger in attic. I have a high eff, duel fuel unit and the condensation is so great we have redesigned the catch basin and drain 3 times. At one time I heard Congress was going to get involved by stopping high efficiency units in attics because of flooding in so may homes. Is this same with this unit, lots of condensation?
Mike that pan should NEVER have moisture in it. It is only for a backup to the drain system. If you have condensation in your pan, there is a serious problem with the installation of your system.
The profit margin might not be the greatest as its a break even point of 20 years but whales with spare money sitting around are probably waiting to dump it on this. Scaleability is key, and creating your own monopoly throughout the country where average citizens can afford a new house is a no brainer. Houses here in co that are 50 years old are selling for 300k, a brand new home for 300k along with dirt cheap utilities? Damn.
I will never live under any sort of HOA, ever. If I spend $100s of thousands on a home, I want the freedom to do whatever the hell I want with my property and this type of development will never allow that level of autonomy. Also, I don't like the idea of having to pay a monthly fee for the geothermal energy in perpetuity. That's how many solar companies screw people into paying way more than their system is actually worth through leasing programs. No, I prefer to pay the cost of the system I have and own it. That said, I like the concept of using scale to reduce cost, which a lot of people will love and that's great, but this cookie cutter setup just isn't for me. My idea of the perfect homestead would utilize many of the efficient technologies used here, but on a larger pc of land away from population centers. Yes, my cost would be higher, but that's fine with me. I'd rather pay more and have total control of my little corner of the world.
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Omg 300k.. houses are so cheap in Texas , USA.. such a big house in Toronto canada will cost 600k.. I would definitely buy one if US can give me house loan from Canada
I might be missing something, but I thought the term "geothermal" is already taken and referred to generating electricity using steam from a source of underground heat. This is more like "dirt heat sink".
Not necessarily...we do not generate electricity through our geogrid, but rather access the natural temperatures within the Earth for supply/demand purposes in cooling/heating the homes here. The solar panels supplement the zero energy capabilities of the geothermal system through energy generation. I can understand your analogy to some degree, but it's a little bit more than that.
This is not geothermal energy (producing electricity)....thats a misnomer. it's geothermal heating/cooling. it's just a heat pump sending the waste heat/cool to the ground instead of the air.
Hi +Matt H ! The British thermal unit (BTU) is a traditional unit of heat; it is defined as the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. It is part of the United States customary units. Heat is now known to be equivalent to energy, for which the SI unit is the joule; one BTU is about 1055 joules.
I wonder if that shared geo temp extraction system means that individual houses don't have much room to tailor their own conditions. Do all houses have to be using the system for the same purpose (heating, cooling) at the same time?
NorthernChev actually, a 350ft deep borehole would provide limitless heat or AC in pretty much anyplace on earth... maybe not in Antarctica... on top of the 2 mile thick ice sheets... but within reason...
Whisper Valley David Yes, I understand air and ground heat pump systems. Some of the example cities mentioned in the video, which I quoted, are indeed medium distance district heating systems. The sense of the comment in the video was that these district heat systems were novel examples around the world, but somehow unknown in the US, which is incorrect.
Why don't developers start with designing homes that do not need to use as much aircon in the summer, through passive design, so there is no need for the "geo-grid" to cool every house?
27 out of 31 days in the month of August had temperatures over 100'F (37-38'C) this year in August! Texas is hot! The connection of individual wells to form the geo-grid is for monitoring and maintenance.
I like the idea, but don't like paying $110+ every month to an HOA/maintenance company. I live in a pretty big house (2500+ square feet) with a traditional AC system in the Austin area. My electric bill tops out at $150/month in the summer and is less than $100 for 6 months out of the year. I am not locked into Austin Energy thankfully though. Add in the cost to use the 130 toll road at $3-5 per day and it is a wash. You can still buy houses a similar distance north of Austin area for $150-200K that don't have HOAs and then spend $100K putting in a geothermal system and making it new. As for a geothermal system being able to cope in Texas summers, when I was living in Belton, TX we had a geothermal heat pump put in a 100 year old house. It was expensive, but was still going strong 15 years later when we sold the house. We were able to keep the house as cool as we liked. Geothermal can definitely work in Texas. I also like the insulation of the roof idea, but they should have gone with a metal roof if they really want the whole house to last 50+ years.
Hi there, HOA and ESS are two separate entities that exist for entirely different purposes. $50/month goes to HOA for a pool, fitness center, trail maintenance, and events (we have several homeowner events per month...pasta making, oil making, mario kart tournaments, etc.) whilst the ESS cost goes to maintaining the geogrid. From the sounds of your bill - you must have great energy behaviors! This is something we work to educate here and we've seen bills as low as $30 a month...with some folks even earning credits from Bluebonnet. There are plenty of access routes from WV that do not require to take 130 in any way, shape, or form...but it is a boon to have nearby should you be looking to make it to San Antonio within the hour. Your point about the roof has not fallen on deaf ears either. We are constantly evolving ideas here! Thank you!
It requires greater initial investment, longer time to get returns, scale. German companies are pretty good with this type of thing. The direct contrast would be Chinese companies who want to make a quick buck and it isn't worth them building a reputation.
I like the concept, but what you save in Utility bills every year, will most likely go to your Yearly Maintenance fees to maintain that Neighborhood wide Geo-Thermal system. I can see it now, 5 years down the road. "Oops, time to replace the $20,000 pump and some upgrades at the station, sorry, your HOA special assessment this year is going to be $1000, and your yearly dues just went up $200."
freqster. Pumps are relatively cheap and low maintenance. All the farmers around my area have them running all summer 60- 80 psi without any issues for years and years the only protection they get is a bit of tin to keep the snow off. Some of these are deep water and some surface water pumps.
No, the business model is the same as the power and gas company. They're just be the local utility with a locked in low rate that beats the power and gas company rates. Costs like maintenance is already factored into the rate and is why they have an estimated break even point of 20 years.
My thoughts exactly. This guy is basically creating energy monopolies for himself 💁🏻♂️ Don’t get me wrong, the idea is great. This is how cities should operate. He’s just cutting out all the politicians that might get in the way of him profiting.
Seems you missed the point where they pay for the geothermal (likely monthly) and I bet it would include clauses about maintenance/fixing equipment being on the 'utility' and how rates can only go up x% per year (hopefully only a couple max), now the monthly price on the other hand...we aren't given. I do believe it is done smart by that guy but we don't have all the numbers. Time will tell. This is a smart way to do it because those houses really aren't more expensive than ones without the renewable energy. Having it from the get go is great too.
Hi there! HOA here is completely and utterly separate from EcoSmart Solution - which installed and maintains the infrastructure. There is a flat monthy fee from ESS as a connection assessment fee for the access to and maintenance of our Geogrid. The Bosch heatpumps are owned by the homeowner and have the longest warranty in the industry at a whopping 11 years. The homeowner maintains the machine much in the same way that they would a regular HVAC, but because the machine is in your attic - it is also protected from the elements. The HOA fee is only $150 a quarter and there is already a fitness center and a pool here (we also have events! Carnival themed farmer's market/craft pop up on June 16th!). The ESS assessment is only slightly more than that. Hope this helps!
So this is great for blank canvases that can be turned into this type of community, but how about existing homes/communities? What happens when an existing community like this needs an upgrade or something fails, does it fail for everyone? Does everyone need to move out when the community needs servicing/maintenance/upgrades?
Accessible, affordable, and will probably be burned down by wild fires, swept away by floods, or blown away by super tornadoes... coming shortly to a neighbourhood near you.
Sounds great, but they need some smaller more affordable houses. Not everyone has a huge family for that house. I'm not talking tiny , but smaller. Something for a single person or couple or seniors.
@@whispervalleydavid2940 sounds awesome. Still to big for me! I have a house just a little over 600 sq feet (I tell people it's an apt on steroids built in 1956) and it's just right for me. 1000 sq would be over kill but I'm excited to see a developer do small. Not everyone can afford or need a mini mcmansion. Can't wait to see what your smallest looks like.
"Small monthly fee"? Ok, but earlier in the video the price of the home was cite by the developer as including everything, and now an unnamed fee is referenced. Don't do that.
The small monthly fee is an HOA fee to maintain the community infrastructure. The "all included" part is the geothermal heating and air/hot water system, the solar panels, and the high speed fiber internet connection. In most housing developments those are add ons on top of the base price. These houses have it all included in the base price.
SCWfan06 It's cheaper in the long run to be energy efficient, so I think it's not a matter of being especially rich. And these homes are cheaper than the median house in the area anyways.
Omg, I'm building in the next year or so and things offered in this video are very expensive. It being offered like this is a wonderful idea. There should be more communities like this.
More housing developers need to do this!
Energy efficient, fiber, and affordable? Please roll this out everywhere.
Pick two.
More often than not it's "pick one"
These are not affordable for the majority of Austin residents.
There are more hidden cost!!!! What is the monthly fee for the pump house??????????
Hi there! The average price of our homes is under the median cost of Austin homes as Axel mentioned in the video. There are no hidden costs - every home owner in Whisper Valley is told of any costs associated with our development well in advance. EcoSmart charges a flat connection assessment fee for the access to and maintenance of our Geogrid. However, the savings in utility costs because of the solar and geothermal services offset monthly bills in favor of the home owner. Some of our residents with great energy behaviors are actually being credited money each month by producing more electricity that they are using! Pretty cool, huh?
I do not usually comment on videos, but holy cow, this is amazing. I am currently taking a college course in Environmental Science, and we were required to watch this video and discuss it. I am blown away by the use of the geogrid, and affordable housing!! This is amazing.
You ah talking to genius German engineer.
Ah man...Axel is a brilliant man but no engineer lol
😂😂
Microphonix Virtual Studio with a snap button shirt!
Microphonix Virtual Studio = too bad our billionairs don’t take as much interest in a positive / progressive clean way to keep NAmerica great & thereby being the first to have the best! Leader of progress ~ Instead they prefer to line their already overflowing greedy pockets with “blood money” from mother natures heart n soul! Fracking her as we speak for MORE! Its not enough! Gives us M O R E!! Destroying the very forests our future depends on and the eco system will forever be destroyed to only get earth unihabitable? Our planet has been put in microspeed & our carbon foot print went up by 500% due to GREED!
Germany and Europe has been doing these homes for years
Hey it's us! Big thanks to Ask This Old House for featuring Whisper Valley on their show!! Feel free to ask me questions and I will do my best to clarify any confusion about Whisper Valley as a whole!
RedBoxToolsUSA has tried to contact Whisper Valley as an Austin Area Solar Products Company, in order to create a business partnership, in order to supply Solar Products including Solar panels, Solar Kits, Batteries, Inverters, and more
This is wonderful and a fantastic environmentally sound idea roll out.
Does your house get worm okey?
@@amandamcmoney693 Yep!
RedBoxToolsUSA , I have geothermal in my home in southern Illinois. I often see return loop temps in the mid 90s in the summer when outside temps are 100+. Is that normal?
A great house. The desire of many people.
Thanks!
I am sooo jealous! I live on a new housing development in Texas and the designing and craftsmanship is atrocious. No sidewalks, leaks in the house, aswell as appliances failing, and a plethora of other things. Great showcase though anyhow!
THE WORSE BUILDERS ARE FROM CALIFORNIA THEIR MATERIALS AND IDEAS ARE 4TH WORLD.
This needs to be the norm everywhere. Much cheaper to do it at scale, rather than house by house.
I toured this place the other day. The homes are very cookie cutter, and they're right next to each-other, but solar, geothermal and google fiber installed on a new, energy effecient home - thats hard to beat.
I am a plumer this project with geothermal it is wery well done nice to see USA make smart change , in my Country Romania we buy geothermal pump but they are so expensive .
Thank you!
Post from Canada: Wow!!! i am jealous. I wish we had some builders like you. Above all i am amazed by the price range.
Hey! Homes by Avi and Pacesetter are both Canadian companies...so who knows? Maybe EcoSmart Solution will make it's way up there one day.
@@whispervalleydavid2940 just googled it - could not find it - do you have their web id?
@@Soothsayer210 You googled what specifically? I'd be happy to help direct you :)
@@whispervalleydavid2940 i googled exactly "Homes by Avi and Pacesetter" - Sorry i did that again and now i see it. My apologies. I will go thru this in detail. Thx for your direction.
Need rainwater collection systems. As we have learned from Flint, Michigan.
Brian Foster many low rainfall areas prohibit rainwater collection, or heavily tax it...
Water recycling like what they have on the iss
Whisper Valley potentially has a 25 year development ahead of it - as we work on streamlining all of our current processes, we can potentially implement more features such as rainwater collection into the works. Our Discovery Center is equipped with Zero Mass panels...I'd look at those if you're interested in water conservation!
One problem with geothermal is that it refers to two very different technologies. The kind they were talking about uses dirt as a heat sink and can be used anywhere, but the other kind uses underground volcanic activity to boil water, which can then be used to generate electricity, etc. This only works if you live on a volcano (or a future volcano).
This doesn't not only work if you live on a volcano lol. This is a thermal exchange system. You remove BTU's from the home via the ground source heat pump and access to a 350ft deep closed loop inside a well in an easement in the backyard. They do not advertise the generation of energy through geothermal - they combine the thermal exchange system with the solar generation to create a very efficient system.
Okay, I'm so conditioned by my movie and t.v. viewing history. As soon as I heard this guy's German accent, I immediately thought that he was up to something nefarious, and the entire housing development on display was just a front for an actual underground death ray lab that would be used to conquer the world.
My wife's nephews went to a school in upstate Pennsylvania that had geothermal heating and air. The entire line system is under the athletic fields. They also put in an environmental area and show how to slow runoff from rain. Absolutely terrific.
This community idea needs to take hold around the country. I'm not one for regulations, however if new developments are being built I think these should be considered or mandated.
This is only sustainable in terms of energy, but transit is still car dominated. More parking, more driving, more traffic.
Tesla.....
You make a valid point, but that area of the US is pretty car-dependent, kind of unavoidable...
Yes, CO2 levels are a concern for everyone on earth. See the NewTube video called "CO2 is coming to get you"
They need to have open space..parks..trees and habitat for vegetables, insects and visual beauty as a functional part of their plan.
Amen. p.s. We can't keep expanding on a finite planet.
I actually visited these homes when looking for my first house in the Austin area and just the monthly fee for maintaining that geothermal system had me running back to a traditional builder.
Jose Carnero how much were the monthly fees?? people are saying their electrics were around 48-70 a month, which doesn’t sound bad. but there were a lot of people talking about hoa’s which i don’t understand. (curious teenager, not an actual adult)
@Bank! that's 600 a year, at my current community it's 350, and they still have a very nice pool, playground and recreational area. That also doesn't include all the maintenance fees
@@eloycarnero Hi there - according to research performed by Trulia (www.trulia.com/research/hoa-fees/), the national average for HOA MONTHLY fees was $331 in 2015.
Net Zero and Passive House construction techniques are the future. Saving energy saves money on utilities.
Air sealing, great insulation, super efficient heating and air conditioning, LED lighting systems, Triple pane windows and European style triple seal doors, Solar panels with battery storage and an electric vehicle charger in the garage. Air sealing and blower door testing is an under appreciated energy saver.
I love a lot of the videos TOH puts out, and I especially love this recent focus on efficiency/sustainability. BUT: as important as the construction methods and materials are, location and zoning have an equal (if not greater) role in making homes/communities more energy efficient and 'greener'. Seeing this...pod of houses out in a typical suburban sprawl just reinforces how important old downtowns and small towns are to making homes livable and affordable.
Still, a great video, and I look forward to seeing where this design philosophy goes.
happy to install your solar or electrical on your new or existing home Call CRsolar and Electrical in Pflugerville. I didn't realize this area had geo thermal heatpumps very cool, we can do solar more affordable typically. with the top products.
Okay can this be retro fitted for old neighborhoods and small city's? Say when new roads need to be installed can they do this?
Just amazing. This is what I had in mind for my career... I'll just bring it a little further north.
Thank you!
Very smart. Hopefully this goes to every city in America!
This is amazing please make this everywhere
Probably even better than german civil engineers, austrian engineers. You should see them austrians building with their climate conditions... I´not a civil engineerig or builder, but as an engineer I was amazed.
This video is now over a year old. How did he do? Did the market take up the idea? Are there similar constructions taking place elsewhere?
It's a hoax just like any other renewables.
@@LoggyWD Very Wrong, I live in a house with the same system in The Netherlands, it works perfectly. Our whole neighbourhood is built like this. They started building around 2012, they're still building new houses, they're very much in demand. I save a lot of money with this system.
Yes, I'm saying hi from The Netherlands. We got similar projects over here which already started in 2012. I live in a big new neighborhood like this where they started building around 2012. They're still building new houses as they're in high demand. It works like a charm and I save a lot of money with the electricity bills. (And we don't have, or need, gas)
@@LoggyWD Hi there and others! EcoSmart Solution formed a joint venture with Shell Renewable Energies in May and Whisper Valley is doing very well. Two more builders came into the development in May for a total of 5 builders now. Things are moving along! :)
Fascinating development. What household waste containment is being used? Any Organics and landfill diversion systems on site?
I like the design of those houses.
Yet another good reason to move to Austin. That’s just what they need in Austin, more people moving in.
We LOVE "This Old House" and this video! And we LOVE "Net Zero Energy" so much that our new home - that we will start building in +/- 30 days - waiting for the building permit from city - is going to be "beyond" #NetZeroEnergy by about 120% according to our Architect who told us about this video. So we're actually going to have a "Net Positive Energy" home when completed - and we are NOT connecting to the local electric utility! Our new home will have an "integrated Net Positive Energy" system that has Geothermal for our cooling and heating (#GroundSourceHeatPumps) PLUS a Rooftop PV solar energy system (each panel rated at 380 watts) PLUS #BatteryEnergyStorage using #LithiumIRonBatteries (Not "ion" but #iRon!) And yes, we're super-excited about NEVER ever getting another electric utility bill!
And how much did all that cost?
I wish I could send this to all...in the world! Your an example for all as is all the Whisper Valleys in the world! To see what maybe NOT everyone can or could but if we did it as a ‘Joint venture’ even if not a new build - we are Smart, educated and surely can make cleaner, simpler, slower lifestyle and enjoy our planet before it is too late! Its true everything in this world worth keeping is free and easily obtained!
JesusIsTheSonOfGod ~ I was thinking of 5G + how all will be monitored, kinda like Jesus, probably does, just talking about Holy Mothers’ message @ Medjugorji, Croatia, she was sent by God, as her son, who loves us so much, wants us to know we need to make scarifices + pray the rosary, she had bad news, about our days ahead, otherwise, caused by our actions/even our thoughts were creating!
By changing that which motivates us being=greed, hate and materialism, but instead...we’re to be sure our motivations for doing comes from a place of love of all, + that LOVE is our only driving force, in everything we do from now on! We have way more than Covid-19 and climate change to worry about - *I therefore will try to send + give positive + kind responses + have good thoughts, vibes to all responsible for the evil done on this planet!
I’m not perfect and may fail...so am sending ...❤️ to all who are doing their part making costly ecofriendly changes, conversations, news, let us know - how or what you or someone is doing to make the world energy crises, more eco friendly, we need all the Hope we can get❣️
Fantastic Work. Going in the right direction!
I always thought a layout idea of that would be cute have the front yard like a backyard and all connected so your kids can run around with other kids and won’t have to worry about getting worried and the backyard as a front yard where you pull in
Sa-weet! That is German engineering and industry for you.
Timothy Shields if it's as unreliable as their automobiles I don't want no part of it
yowza yowza I gotta Nissan so.. 🤷🏻♂️
yowza yowza why unreliable. Volkswagens are really reliable
yowza yowza German automobiles are the best in the world.
yowza yowza if they're so unreliable why is Trumptard slapping heavy tariffs on German automobiles?
This is awesome. I don't know why it has downvotes
This needs to be happening all over the US. Germans have been living so efficiently for decades. Great video. Gives me hope.
There's a level of expense to it. So that is a barrier.
So basically you have your usual utilities like gas, water, electricity, etc. but with this this model of infrastructure you have one additional fee to pay for the geothermal. But because you should have lower electricity costs due to having solar panels it sounds like it would kinda work out to be not any cheaper nor more expensive than another neighbourhood of the same general value.
This is actually a pretty good analysis! Electricity does tend to be a little bit less even if you combine the geothermal assessment fee with your electricity bill in our experience.
Holy $#!T *!* I live in a typical NZ suburban area. Nothing fancy, not in a city. Just weatherboard homes and all. The avg. is *$500,000* for a regular house. No 2nd storey, 1970's to 1990's mostly. When can I move to America??
That's not even the city... I have no idea how I could live. 🤔🤔
Scalability- excellent!
Soooo if the main pumping station goes down, then everybody in the neighborhood losses their heat or A/C?
Great idea but when one goes down no one can find which one is broken .
250 to 400,000 dollars and 1500 square feet + Thousand sure that’s affordable single family housing and there’s never been a health problem with foam insulation NOT
My 60s Long Island House at 1250 sqft has a total utility cost of 185 dollars a month is plenty big for most families and the only cost was putting in modern windows,house wrap and better attic insulation
very good these innovations are important mainly for the country as our Mozambique should be installed in our beaches where there is lot of demand of tourist establishments.
This is excellent to see. Texas should be taking advantage of the weather by utilizing more solar. It's baffling they don't already...or it's simply corruption of sorts. Love the European engineering take on building communities, efficiency!
What’s the purpose of having a “central” geothermal station, when each house has its own line that goes down 350 feet?
To be able to manage district heat loads!
What if you want a custom house... Are empty lots available?
another great video Ross!!
Should make the houses use dark sky lighting. Cut down on light pollution!
I wonder how much condensation is picked up in that tray under the fancy heat exchanger in attic. I have a high eff, duel fuel unit and the condensation is so great we have redesigned the catch basin and drain 3 times. At one time I heard Congress was going to get involved by stopping high efficiency units in attics because of flooding in so may homes. Is this same with this unit, lots of condensation?
Mike that pan should NEVER have moisture in it.
It is only for a backup to the drain system. If you have condensation in your pan, there is a serious problem with the installation of your system.
The profit margin might not be the greatest as its a break even point of 20 years but whales with spare money sitting around are probably waiting to dump it on this. Scaleability is key, and creating your own monopoly throughout the country where average citizens can afford a new house is a no brainer. Houses here in co that are 50 years old are selling for 300k, a brand new home for 300k along with dirt cheap utilities? Damn.
I will never live under any sort of HOA, ever. If I spend $100s of thousands on a home, I want the freedom to do whatever the hell I want with my property and this type of development will never allow that level of autonomy. Also, I don't like the idea of having to pay a monthly fee for the geothermal energy in perpetuity. That's how many solar companies screw people into paying way more than their system is actually worth through leasing programs. No, I prefer to pay the cost of the system I have and own it. That said, I like the concept of using scale to reduce cost, which a lot of people will love and that's great, but this cookie cutter setup just isn't for me. My idea of the perfect homestead would utilize many of the efficient technologies used here, but on a larger pc of land away from population centers. Yes, my cost would be higher, but that's fine with me. I'd rather pay more and have total control of my little corner of the world.
D LG
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It has been 2 years since this post is the sub- division built out ?
Great ideas, wonderful to see.
Thanks +Stacy Hackney!
"small monthly fee"...
This is amazing!
Hey thanks!
Omg 300k.. houses are so cheap in Texas , USA.. such a big house in Toronto canada will cost 600k.. I would definitely buy one if US can give me house loan from Canada
I might be missing something, but I thought the term "geothermal" is already taken and referred to generating electricity using steam from a source of underground heat. This is more like "dirt heat sink".
Not necessarily...we do not generate electricity through our geogrid, but rather access the natural temperatures within the Earth for supply/demand purposes in cooling/heating the homes here. The solar panels supplement the zero energy capabilities of the geothermal system through energy generation. I can understand your analogy to some degree, but it's a little bit more than that.
In Iceland, geothermal power is provided by the heated gyzers to heat steam, then turbines.
This is not geothermal energy (producing electricity)....thats a misnomer. it's geothermal heating/cooling. it's just a heat pump sending the waste heat/cool to the ground instead of the air.
Hi +Matt H ! The British thermal unit (BTU) is a traditional unit of heat; it is defined as the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. It is part of the United States customary units. Heat is now known to be equivalent to energy, for which the SI unit is the joule; one BTU is about 1055 joules.
The Europeans have been doing central heating and cooling districts for centuries. Great idea.
Once upon a time, some old American cities had central boilers to heat homes.
Cool!
wow great work ...
I wonder if that shared geo temp extraction system means that individual houses don't have much room to tailor their own conditions. Do all houses have to be using the system for the same purpose (heating, cooling) at the same time?
Every home has access to a well on their lot, so everyone gets to tailor their own conditions!
Very nice 🍻
Thank you!
do you think they use advanced framing methods or sustainable walls?
Each of the builders have there own construction methods.
Nice animations!
At this time only viable in acwarm climate like Central Texas where cold weather is only a few weeks long and NOT severe.
Then how are they doing it in Iceland, Denmark, Germany, Sweden?
theuglykwan well... Iceland is highly volcanic just like Hawaii...
NorthernChev actually, a 350ft deep borehole would provide limitless heat or AC in pretty much anyplace on earth... maybe not in Antarctica... on top of the 2 mile thick ice sheets... but within reason...
“You got it in Copenhagen, Munich, ... Iceland”
Hey Sonny, steam pipe district heating went into NYC 140 years ago.
Hi Mark, but this development isn't steam pipe district heating at all! It's actually closer to a massive thermal exchange system.
Whisper Valley David Yes, I understand air and ground heat pump systems. Some of the example cities mentioned in the video, which I quoted, are indeed medium distance district heating systems. The sense of the comment in the video was that these district heat systems were novel examples around the world, but somehow unknown in the US, which is incorrect.
Babcock ranch in Florida is really nice !!
What Great idea
Why don't developers start with designing homes that do not need to use as much aircon in the summer, through passive design, so there is no need for the "geo-grid" to cool every house?
27 out of 31 days in the month of August had temperatures over 100'F (37-38'C) this year in August! Texas is hot! The connection of individual wells to form the geo-grid is for monitoring and maintenance.
Amazing!!!
I like the idea, but don't like paying $110+ every month to an HOA/maintenance company. I live in a pretty big house (2500+ square feet) with a traditional AC system in the Austin area. My electric bill tops out at $150/month in the summer and is less than $100 for 6 months out of the year. I am not locked into Austin Energy thankfully though. Add in the cost to use the 130 toll road at $3-5 per day and it is a wash. You can still buy houses a similar distance north of Austin area for $150-200K that don't have HOAs and then spend $100K putting in a geothermal system and making it new. As for a geothermal system being able to cope in Texas summers, when I was living in Belton, TX we had a geothermal heat pump put in a 100 year old house. It was expensive, but was still going strong 15 years later when we sold the house. We were able to keep the house as cool as we liked. Geothermal can definitely work in Texas. I also like the insulation of the roof idea, but they should have gone with a metal roof if they really want the whole house to last 50+ years.
Hi there,
HOA and ESS are two separate entities that exist for entirely different purposes. $50/month goes to HOA for a pool, fitness center, trail maintenance, and events (we have several homeowner events per month...pasta making, oil making, mario kart tournaments, etc.) whilst the ESS cost goes to maintaining the geogrid. From the sounds of your bill - you must have great energy behaviors! This is something we work to educate here and we've seen bills as low as $30 a month...with some folks even earning credits from Bluebonnet. There are plenty of access routes from WV that do not require to take 130 in any way, shape, or form...but it is a boon to have nearby should you be looking to make it to San Antonio within the hour. Your point about the roof has not fallen on deaf ears either. We are constantly evolving ideas here!
Thank you!
What if one of those pipies break so deep below ground?
What do you guys think about that foam. I think there's moisture behind it I don't care for it myself
Why aren’t more developers doing this!!?! The demand for this technology is night in New England
It requires greater initial investment, longer time to get returns, scale. German companies are pretty good with this type of thing. The direct contrast would be Chinese companies who want to make a quick buck and it isn't worth them building a reputation.
@@theuglykwan The company isn't German. The HQ is in Boston.
@@dock4249 It was founded in Germany and currently HQ in Boston so I guess it is now a global developer with German roots.
I like the concept, but what you save in Utility bills every year, will most likely go to your Yearly Maintenance fees to maintain that Neighborhood wide Geo-Thermal system. I can see it now, 5 years down the road. "Oops, time to replace the $20,000 pump and some upgrades at the station, sorry, your HOA special assessment this year is going to be $1000, and your yearly dues just went up $200."
freqster. Pumps are relatively cheap and low maintenance. All the farmers around my area have them running all summer 60- 80 psi without any issues for years and years the only protection they get is a bit of tin to keep the snow off. Some of these are deep water and some surface water pumps.
No, the business model is the same as the power and gas company. They're just be the local utility with a locked in low rate that beats the power and gas company rates.
Costs like maintenance is already factored into the rate and is why they have an estimated break even point of 20 years.
My thoughts exactly. This guy is basically creating energy monopolies for himself 💁🏻♂️
Don’t get me wrong, the idea is great. This is how cities should operate. He’s just cutting out all the politicians that might get in the way of him profiting.
Seems you missed the point where they pay for the geothermal (likely monthly) and I bet it would include clauses about maintenance/fixing equipment being on the 'utility' and how rates can only go up x% per year (hopefully only a couple max), now the monthly price on the other hand...we aren't given. I do believe it is done smart by that guy but we don't have all the numbers. Time will tell. This is a smart way to do it because those houses really aren't more expensive than ones without the renewable energy. Having it from the get go is great too.
Hi there! HOA here is completely and utterly separate from EcoSmart Solution - which installed and maintains the infrastructure. There is a flat monthy fee from ESS as a connection assessment fee for the access to and maintenance of our Geogrid. The Bosch heatpumps are owned by the homeowner and have the longest warranty in the industry at a whopping 11 years. The homeowner maintains the machine much in the same way that they would a regular HVAC, but because the machine is in your attic - it is also protected from the elements. The HOA fee is only $150 a quarter and there is already a fitness center and a pool here (we also have events! Carnival themed farmer's market/craft pop up on June 16th!). The ESS assessment is only slightly more than that. Hope this helps!
What happens when the well water level drops as it is presently doing?
"as it is presently doing?
" what do you mean?
@@dock4249 th-cam.com/users/results?search_query=water+crisis
Welcome to Treeless Valley!!!
sdafasdfasdfsda yea they need to plant more trees
This neighbor is not finished yet.
We have 700 acres of green space! There is at least 1 tree!
Yes, CO2 levels are a concern for everyone on earth. See the NewTube video called "CO2 is coming to get you"
Awesome the only thing I didnt like is the spray foam insulation.
Why is that?
@@dock4249 because its flammable
Uri Gonzalez and wood isn’t?
Drop the rural urban barrier in Auckland and get these guys in. Problem solved New Zealand. You're welcome.
Small fee to be monitored 24/7.
very nice the way forward
So this is great for blank canvases that can be turned into this type of community, but how about existing homes/communities? What happens when an existing community like this needs an upgrade or something fails, does it fail for everyone? Does everyone need to move out when the community needs servicing/maintenance/upgrades?
Retrofitting a development with this kind of system would be verrrrry tricky!
brilliant
We need this in the uk
I want one!
6:57 cool story bro
Cries in California housing prices
California is one big self-inflicted wound
@@funkyweezy8071 So are Alabama and Mississippi...
California considering the size of land, economy and population is much worse than Alabama
Here is another crisis about CO2. CO2 levels are a concern for everyone on earth. See the NewTube video called "CO2 is coming to get you"
6:20 Whisper Valley must be quiet cause of geothermal
Very!
My state. Way to go.
Accessible, affordable, and will probably be burned down by wild fires, swept away by floods, or blown away by super tornadoes... coming shortly to a neighbourhood near you.
Is this under HOA?
HOA and EcoSmart Solutions are two entirely separate entities!
Sounds great, but they need some smaller more affordable houses. Not everyone has a huge family for that house. I'm not talking tiny , but smaller. Something for a single person or couple or seniors.
We have plenty of smaller product coming in Phase 2 - ~1000-1500 sq ft homes with smaller yards.
@@whispervalleydavid2940 sounds awesome. Still to big for me! I have a house just a little over 600 sq feet (I tell people it's an apt on steroids built in 1956) and it's just right for me. 1000 sq would be over kill but I'm excited to see a developer do small. Not everyone can afford or need a mini mcmansion. Can't wait to see what your smallest looks like.
Cool it with the arm movements my dude
Maybe the arm movements are what is cooling him!
"Small monthly fee"? Ok, but earlier in the video the price of the home was cite by the developer as including everything, and now an unnamed fee is referenced. Don't do that.
The small monthly fee is an HOA fee to maintain the community infrastructure. The "all included" part is the geothermal heating and air/hot water system, the solar panels, and the high speed fiber internet connection. In most housing developments those are add ons on top of the base price. These houses have it all included in the base price.
CO2 levels are a concern for everyone on earth. See the NewTube video called "CO2 is coming to get you"
Фантастика - домов ещё нет, а дороги есть! В России такое немыслимо! В России если и дома есть, то дорог нет и не предвидеться!
Кто уазики будет покупать, если дороги сделать
Well he’s trying to bring the basics of a small Germany town to the USA.
Phil Phil
That's not a basic German house at all.
I thought germany had this huge renewable resource thing going on with their building?
mzy10511
Yeah. If you have the money.
SCWfan06 It's cheaper in the long run to be energy efficient, so I think it's not a matter of being especially rich. And these homes are cheaper than the median house in the area anyways.
pioneer7777777 and House in the us are way less expensive than in Europe because there made from wood and not bricks and concrete.
There are somethings I don't like but good idea.
Guess my community is about 25 years behind
I haven't watched in awhile. Anybody know where Bob Villa went?