Geothermal living: Developer hopes energy-saving heating and cooling system will draw people to subdivision that uses system created in Fort Wayne

Jul 23 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Ryan Lengerich The News-Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Ind.

After 18 years working alongside an engineer in Ossian, Kirby Sink broke away a year and half ago. He joined his father-in-law in creating his own firm. Their first project was an ambitious 170-lot subdivision in Ossian adjacent to a 65-acre proposed public park.

Sink needed a hook, a standout feature to attract homebuyers to rural Wells County despite a brutal new-housing market. He found it in WaterFurnace, a Fort Wayne-based geothermal heating and cooling system manufacturer. The Bridges will be the largest all-geothermal subdivision in northern Indiana, according to the company.

"I thought we needed a niche to sell lots," Sink said. "You are going to save money from Day One on the cost of the house."

Geothermal energy systems use no fossil fuels, emit no greenhouse gases and work by transferring water through underground pipes. Pipes use the earth's temperature to heat homes in winter. They cool homes by pulling warm air out in summer. Homeowners can see monthly energy costs dive by 60 percent or more, according to the company.

An obvious drawback is upfront cost. Though the system costs about the same as traditional heating and cooling systems combined, the loop installation can push the cost to about $4,000 or more, depending on the system, said Ryan Stauffer, marketing project manager for WaterFurnace. That money can be justified immediately, Stauffer said, as the money saved in a month is more than a typical monthly payment for the system. Homeowners are also eligible for various tax credits with the geothermal system.

Founded in 1981 in a garage, WaterFurnace recorded $90 million in sales in 2006, up 27 percent from the previous year, Stauffer said.

Developers and builders are more receptive to their product as the housing market has dipped. "Now they have to worry about differentiating themselves from the competition," he said. "The same old cookie-cutter house does not work anymore."

Curt Klaassen is an engineer and manager at the Iowa Energy Center in Ames, Iowa, a nonprofit funded by a portion of Iowa citizens' utility payments. He has studied geothermal systems in detail. They are efficient, he said, and if a homeowner had to choose between a subdivision with it versus one without, the easy option is geothermal.

"The decision would be based on the energy efficiency financing, it would be a no-brainer," Klaassen said. "Assuming you can roll the increased cost into your mortgage."

The Bridges' first phase consists of 49 lots split between typical single-family homes and villas. Sink has sold two home and seven villa lots. He will let the market determine how to fill out the remaining development, up to 170 lots on the 80 acres. A groundbreaking was held last week.

The subdivision has three lakes, and all homes will use a horizontal closed-loop system in which pipes are placed in trenches that range in length from 100 to 400 feet.

The Bridges will be the largest all-geothermal subdivision in the area, but it is the third to commit to the system, according to WaterFurnace.

In early 2006, Don Hanson earned approval from Huntington County officials to develop the all-geothermal 57-lot Salamonie Glen at Salamonie Avenue and Waterworks Road. Fawn Creek Estates is a planned 12-lot development off Tonkel Road north of Fort Wayne.

Hanson has struggled to sell his lots, despite the geothermal attraction. Hanson opened up the option to build without geothermal, but doesn't believe that is a fiscally intelligent option for the buyer. One model is built, and it includes a WaterFurnace system. He said he can cool that home for $24 per month.

Even that has not been enough to attract buyers. "I would be worried if all the other subdivisions were selling like crazy," Hanson said. "But they aren't, either."

At The Bridges, Sink expects to attract angry homeowners from Aboite, upset with having been slapped with a more-than-50 percent property tax increase and frustrated with the 2006 annexation into Fort Wayne.

Bev Grysch of BKM Real Estate in Ossian is marketing the lots. Including the lot prices, homes and villas will likely sell from about $180,000.

Customers ask her about the lots, and immediately she pitches the geothermal system.

"Everybody is always looking for energy efficiency when they buy a home," Grysch said. "The first questions they ask are 'What are the utility costs and what are the property taxes?' "