Dwell as I Say, Not as I Dwell

[Exsubmariner]

I recieved an e-mail the other day with some interesting facts. So, I decided to poke around this morning for some independent verification about these facts and found it. I would like to share it with you.

First, some facts about GWB's Crawford Ranch.

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The passive-solar house is positioned to absorb winter sunlight, warming the interior walkways and walls of the residence. Geothermal heat pumps circulate water through pipes buried 300 feet (100 m) deep in the ground. A 25,000 US gallon (151 m³) underground cistern collects rainwater gathered from roof urns; wastewater from sinks, toilets, and showers cascades into underground purifying tanks and is also funneled into the cistern. The water from the cistern is then used to irrigate the landscaping around the home.

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From the E-mail I got (From a Heating and Air Conditioning design engineer)....

[ QUOTE ]
This house incorporates every
"green" feature current home construction can provide. The house is
4,000 square feet (4 bedrooms) and is nestled on a high prairie in the
American southwest. A central closet in the house holds geothermal
heat-pumps drawing ground water through pipes sunk 300 feet into the
ground. The water (usually 67 degrees F.) heats the house in the winter
and cools it in the summer. The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas and it consumes one-quarter electricity required for aconventional heating/cooling system. Rainwater from the roof is collected
and funneled into a 25,000 gallon underground cistern. Wastewater from
showers, sinks and toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and then
into the cistern. The collected water then irrigates the land
surrounding the house. Surrounding flowers and shrubs native to the area
enable the property to blend into the surrounding rural landscape.


[/ QUOTE ] (Emphasis Mine)

Now, interestingly enough....

Al Gore lives in the following house, according to the e-mail....

[ QUOTE ]
A 20 room home (not including 8 bathrooms) heated by
natural gas. Add on a pool (and a pool house) and a separate guest
house, all heated by gas. In one month this residence consumes more
energy than the average American household does in a year. The
average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2400. In
natural gas alone, this property consumes more than 20 times the
national average for an American home. This house is not situated
in a Northern or Midwestern "snow belt" area. It's in the South.



[/ QUOTE ]

And here is an outside source....

[ QUOTE ]
during August 2006 Gore's household consumed 22,619 kilowatt-hours — more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year.

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A link to the article by the Tennessee Center for Policy Research

Here is an article that confirms the structural details provided in the e-mail.

Now, my thoughts....

The Gore Family's use of energy is an old controversy and I am not posting to stir that pot. What is surprising to me is the details of the Bush residence. No one has ever pointed this out to me before and I am pretty stunned.

I know a little bit about geothermal heat pumps and to me, they are the way of the future. If you drill down just about anywhere in the US, you'll find a layer of constant 70 degreee temperature about 100 feet underground. It's much more economical to drill those holes, put pipes full of water in them and circulate the water to provide cooling/heating for structures than it is to run the compressors needed for a standard air conditioner. I can envision huge systems like this providing cooling to entire neighborhoods.

How is it that I have never heard these details about the Bush home in the media before? To me, this says volumes.