WaterFurnace International, Inc.

Case Study 34

GeoExchange looks to the future

Key Features
Square Footage: 4,573
Type of System: Closed Vertical Loop
Number of Units: 3
Total Capacity (HVAC Tons): 13

The future is now

The future has arrived in Coppell,
Texas, in the form of a massive,
luxurious and state-of-the-art home
rightly called The Home of the
Future. Resembling a fortress with
its thirty-two foot high turrets, it is
truly an amazing spectacle and
includes a guest suite, art studio, 21foot high garage and sports court,

Ive been aware of

GeoExchange for several
years. They are allaround good systems
quiet, comfortable, long
lasting and
environmentally
conscious.
Randy Luther,
Director of Research and Development,
Centex Homes

Home, Resident

Photo courtesy of the Home of the Future and James F. Wilson

spacious kitchen and the out-of-thisworld kids overnight port (which

resembles a spaceship).
The Home of the Future broke
ground in March of 1997 and was
completed in October of 1997. The
4,573 square foot home is a prototype home with technology, construction techniques and design
elements that industry experts predict
will show up in production homes
five to seven years from now.
This one of a kind home was developed by Builder and Home magazines. Barry Berkus of B3 Architects
and Planners, one of the top 100

ial Application

residential architects in the world,

designed the project.
The idea for the home came from
Centex Homes, the largest singlefamily detached homebuilder in the
United States, headquartered in
Dallas, TX. And the idea to use a
WaterFurnace geothermal (also
called GeoExchange), comfort
system in the home came from
Randy Luther, Director of Research
and Development at Centex. Ive
been aware of GeoExchange for
several years, said Luther. They
are all-around good systemsquiet,
comfortable, long lasting and
environmentally conscious. So when

Ask for Heating and Cooling Equipment

with the ENERGY STAR logo, the
Symbol for Energy Efficiency.

we thought of the Home of the

Future, there was no question. We
chose WaterFurnace in particular
because they are a leader in the
industry.

What is GeoExchange?
GeoExchange technology uses a
network of pipes installed in the
ground to capture the free, renewable
and clean energy found beneath the
Earths surface. The systems have
been proven to operate up to four
times more efficiently than other
heating and cooling systems, which
means for each unit of electricity
used GeoExchange systems generate
four to five units of energy. Benefits
of GeoExchange include up to 60
percent lower operating costs than
traditional HVAC systems, safe,
clean operation and lower refrigerant
requirements.

Premier technology
The Home of the Future features two
5-ton and one 3-ton WaterFurnace
PremierTM2 units and three
IntelliZoneTM comfort zoning systems. Thirteen bore holes, each 250
feet deep, contain 6,500 feet of
polyethylene pipe making up the
Earth loop heat exchanger.
The Premier2 is WaterFurnaces top
of the line residential system. It fits
easily in the conditioned space of the
homeeliminating its exposure to
outside elements and extending the
units life. The Premier2 provides
exceptional comfort and safety with
no flame, no flue and no fumes. In
heating, supply air temperatures are
warmer than with air source heat
pumps, and a more constant indoor
temperature is achieved through less
unit cycling. In cooling, the Premier2
provides better dehumidification than
high efficiency heat pumps or air
conditioners.

The IntelliZone is a compact system

which works in conjunction with
GeoExchange comfort systems and
electronic thermostats. It allows for
certain rooms to be set at different
comfort levels automatically, depending on the time of day and
amount of usage.
David Small, WaterFurnace territory
manager, was instrumental in promoting WaterFurnaces involvement
in this exciting project.
WaterFurnace is proud to be a part
of this state-of-the-art project which
addresses the pressing problems of
todays home buyers, said Small.
We saw this as an excellent opportunity to not only showcase our
product with one of the nations
leading homebuilders, but also as a
tour site for the National Home
Builders Conventions.
Guyton Air Conditioning, Inc. of
Waco, the largest WaterFurnace
dealer in Texas, installed the units,
and Geothermal Drilling of Huntsville, Texas, installed the vertical
closed loops.
We use WaterFurnace
GeoExchange units exclusively.
Weve been in business for 29 years
and have been installing

We use WaterFurnace
GeoExchange units
exclusively. Weve been
in business for 29 years
and have been installing
GeoExchange since
1984. Today the largest
portion of our sales is
GeoExchange and with
good reason.
David Guyton,
Guyton Air Conditioning, Inc.

One of the three Premier2 units with Intellizone system.

GeoExchange since 1984. Today the

largest portion of our sales is
GeoExchange and with good reason, said David Guyton of Guyton
Air Conditioning, Inc.

Only the best

The home also features house-wide
programmable transmission of audio,
video, messaging, security information and state-of-the-art internet and
cable access. The home has a high
tech wireless security system that
communicates via radio frequency
and will also provide fire and intrusion protection which will be integrated with the central control system
that connects all of the homes
electronics systems.
The home also highlights new
construction products and details
used in framing and sheathing
materials, windows, doors and
skylight glazing, and a highly
efficient insulation system.

International, Inc. 9000 Conservation Way Fort Wayne, Indiana 46809 1-800-222-5667
In Canada: 1-800-463-8108

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WaterFurnace is a registered trademark of WaterFurnace International, Inc.

WF1178
Rev. 5/98