Geothermal NJ home melts away snow

No matter how hard it snows, Raj and Bharti Parikh don't need a shovel or snow blower. Their property in Paramus, New Jersey, has tubes running underneath the stoop, walkway, and driveway. Those tubes carry 75-degree water, which melts any snow that accumulates on the surface.

That means their driveway dries out before some of his neighbors even start to shovel.

Fox 5 first reported on the one-of-a-kind geothermal heating system in 2016 when Raj melted away a January blizzard. In 2017, he perfected the system to click on just as the first flakes start to fall. It is just one feature of their home that has no furnace or AC. Instead, solar panels warm rainwater to more than 100 degrees. The water is then stored in giant tanks below the ground until it is needed.

Raj, a research engineer, is looking to take things a step further and incorporate battery power from his hybrid and electric vehicles as a backup energy source. That project is set for the next three to six months.