From PC Mag: Part of the Alphabet (formerly Google) empire is the moonshot factory simply called X. X focuses on inventing and launching "moonshot" technologies to make the world a better place. The latest of those technologies just became an independent company called Dandelion.
Dandelion was an internal project at X for several years with a focus on using geothermal energy to cut down on carbon emissions in the home. This isn't a new idea, but it is an expensive one, which Dandelion aimed to solve. And solve it they have if Kathy Hannun, CEO of Dandelion is to be believed.
Rather than using fuel oil, propane, and lots of electricity to heat and cool your home during the different seasons, it's possible to do the same thing using geothermal systems. For home owners, that means taking advantage of the ground under their yard.
That ground stays at about 50 degrees Fahrenheit all year round. A geothermal system for heating/cooling works by drilling and installing U-shaped plastic pipes and running water through them. In the winter the water takes up the heat in the ground and a geothermal heat pump turns that into warm air pumped into your home. In the summer, the system works in reverse and pumps the warm air out of your home to cool it and deposits the extracted heat in the ground.
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