Sunday’s episode of ABC-TV’s “Extreme
Makeover: Home Edition” featured the installation of a geothermal heating and
cooling unit from WaterFurnace International Inc.
The system is in use in the 3,600-square-foot
Pensacola, Fla., home of Finis Gaston, whose story was featured in the episode.
“It’s a well-insulated, air-tight, energy-efficient home that has been
performance tested,” said Keith Swilley, energy sales and efficiency manager with
utility Gulf Power. “That’s why a geothermal heating and cooling system was the
appropriate choice for this particular home. In my opinion it offers the most
efficient heating and cooling system available, which is why I have a
WaterFurnace geothermal system in my own home.”
Contractor Energy Systems, based in Pensacola, installed the system. It uses
two 2.5-ton Legend geothermal heat pumps along with a de-superheater to provide
hot water.
Installing the system required drilling five 250-foot-deep bore holes a
week before construction on the house was started.
“We wanted to do the drilling and get the loop in the ground and covered
before actual construction of the house began,” said Danny Marshall, Energy
Systems’ owner. “The rest of our work was completed in three phases over a
period of four days, including roughing the pipes in the slab, roughing in the
ductwork and setting all the equipment and tying in the system.”
Energy Systems donated the labor and materials such as ductwork.
