The Geothermal Breakthrough: Heating Homes Smarter, Cheaper, and Cleaner with Dan Yates

Globally, we burn as much fossil fuel heating homes as we do driving cars, yet home heating rarely gets climate attention, even though it drives massive energy use, grid strain, and raises household costs.

In this episode of Hardware to Save a Planet, host Dylan Garrett speaks with Dan Yates, CEO and Chairman of Dandelion Energy, about why geothermal heat pumps may be the most overlooked solution in residential decarbonization. Dan explains how tapping the stable temperatures beneath our feet can slash home energy consumption, dramatically reduce peak electricity demand, and outperform air source heat pumps during extreme weather. 

He shares how Dandelion cut system costs through builder partnerships, making geothermal viable at scale, and why utilities increasingly see it as a grid-stabilizing asset. The conversation explores how hardware innovation, smart incentives, and new business models can align to make clean, electric home heating both affordable and practical.

Dan is a mission-driven entrepreneur who has dedicated his career to the environment. Dan is the CEO and Chairman at Dandelion, the largest and fastest-growing residential geothermal company in the US. He is also a board member of NRDC (the leading US environmental advocacy organization), co-owner of e-commerce company The Spice House, and an active tech investor. Previously, Dan was co-founder and CEO of energy efficiency software company Opower. Dan led Opower through a $1Bn+ IPO (NYSE:OPWR) in 2014 and its sale to Oracle in 2016. Opower has helped consumers save more than 35 terawatt hours of energy, making it a top-five residential clean energy company. Dan has been recognized as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, one of Fortune's 40 under 40, and a Washingtonian Tech Titan.

 

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Previous guests include: Peter Reinhardt of Charm Industrial, Carlos Araque of Quaise, Noah McQueen of Heirloom, Areeb Malik of Glacier, Jeff Satwicz of Bigbelly, Abe Schneider of Natel Energy, Insiya Jafferjee of Shellworks, Paul Gross of Remora, Erika Boeing of Accelerate Wind and Daniel Betts of Blue Frontier.

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