One of the ten biggest developments of its kind in the US, this sustainable, master-planned community features 7,500 Net-Zero ready homes
“We had considered putting solar panels on our house. But after we heard about the geothermal technology that comes standard with every home in Whisper Valley, we researched and found out how kind it is to the environment. After that there was no other place we were interested in.”
-- D. Williams, homeowner
Whisper Valley Planned Community | Austin, TX
The community will help the city of Austin meet its target to reduce CO2 emissions to zero. Whisper Valley will eventually include 7,500 net-zero ready single and multi-family homes and apartments, plus 2+ million square feet of retail and office space across 2,062 acres (900 hectares). All structures will be geoexchange and solar equipped, capable of achieving the Net-Zero energy (or carbon neutral) standard adopted by the City of Austin’s Municipal Building Code for all new construction homes. Austin has established a 2050 target to reduce carbon emissions to zero.
Whisper Valley homeowners incur no upfront costs for the geothermal system, as the ground loop infrastructure is pre-installed throughout the community.
Phase 1 of the community includes 237 homes (200 single family homes on 50-60 ft lots; 39 town homes).
REHAU RAUGEO™ Geoexchange
The community comprises 237 RAUGEO™ U-bend vertical ground loops inserted in a borehole (created by a well-drilling rig) in each lot and a Bosch geothermal water-to-air heat pump in each home. All vertical loops in the Phase I development are connected with district piping into a single closed-loop network that continuously circulates water and exchanges energy with the earth.
For Builders:
Builder Interest Explodes With Early Success of Whisper Valley, Austin's New Zero-net Capable Energy Community
For Homeowners:
Whisper Valley makes geoexchange accessible while cutting energy bills by 90%
The network absorbs stored heat from the earth in heating season and rejects heat back into the earth in cooling season. Due to significantly higher demand for cooling in Austin, TX, two 250-ton cooling towers are used to augment the ground loop for heat rejection.
Want more information on RAUGEO ? Contact one of our geoexchange experts today.