Rebecca Cacayuran doesn’t heat her home with gas. Instead, plastic pipes run from her house deep into the ground, and deliver natural heat.
Her home is one of a handful installed with a geothermal heating unit, a method of using renewable energy from the earth to provide heating and cooling. It’s part of the new Church Street Village, 1641 Church St., a green development project that will eventually include 40 houses, all equipped with the new heating technology.
Geothermal building systems create a heat transfer by moving energy from the earth into homes, said Bill Smith, the village’s project manager. During the winter, plastic pipes pump fluid into the ground that retain the earth’s natural heat, and then circulate the heat back into the house.
Smith said the most important aspect is the fact the system doesn’t use any gas.
“You don’t need any gas for heating your home in the winter time,” said Smith, who added the system is “a very efficient and green process, where you really lower your carbon emissions at home.”
Tad Cook, a Coldwell Banker realtor who works with the Church Street Village, said it costs about $15,000 to install a geothermal heating unit. The developers included that in the price of the townhouses, he added.
But the system saves anywhere from $100 to $200 a month, Cook said.
“People were a little skeptical at first, because of the additional cost,” he said. “But then we had to remind people that if they are financing the house, at current interest rates of 5 or 6 percent, it’s only going to cost about $90 a month.”
Cacayuran, who has lived in her townhouse with her husband, Arthur, for nearly a year, said she sees the savings every month.
The couple used to rent and therefore did not receive energy bills before moving into their Church Street Village townhouse.
“I know from talking to co-workers and friends,” Rebecca Cacayuran said. “We are paying a fraction of what they’re paying,”
Interest in the Church Street Village magnified ten-fold when the developers announced they would use geothermal heating technology, Cook said.
“The geothermal thing became part of the identity of the development,” he said.
The townhouses are also equipped with other “green” measures, Cook said.
Each house is equipped with bamboo floors and dual flush toilets that conserve water. The developers also used recycled blue jean material to insulate the walls, and the buildings frames are built offsite at a plant, which cuts down on wasted materials, Rebecca Cacayuran said.
The development offers other optional green features, such as carpeting made from recycled fibers. The Cacayurans elected to install a tankless water heater that heats up water as needed, and saves more money and energy than the traditional method of keeping a full tank of water.
The couple said they are looking to make their home even more eco-friendly. They decided to install energy-conserving appliances, and hope to find recycled glass to decorate part of the kitchen.
Rebecca Cacayuran said anybody can make their home more energy-efficient if they make an effort.
“There are things that everybody can do,” she said. “It’s just making little decisions that add up.”
