Posted by Kromey at 10:37pm Apr 6 '10In the beginning, Man lived in Caves.
Later, Man made Tents out of the hides of his kills.
Then, Man built Huts out of sticks and mud.
And then, Man built Houses from fallen trees.
Today, Man faces a looming crisis: We are destroying too much wilderness to house ourselves to remain sustainable. We are expending too much energy to heat/cool our living spaces.
We must change the way in which we live in order to prevent a catastrophe. We must return to the caves from whence we came.
Ugh. Wait wait wait. Look at that. Can you imagine how dark, cramped, and claustrophobic that place would be to live in? I mean, it's got only 2 tiny little windows!! That just won't do!
Let's try this again.
Ah, that's better! All the creature comforts we've become accustomed to, in a home whose footprint is a tiny fraction of what a similar-sized "standard" home would be. This image shows a large manicured lawn, but you could easily allow most of that -- even your roof!! -- to be reclaimed by wild growth!
This, my friends, is an earth-sheltered home. At it's most basic level, this is a home with soil piled up around and on top of it - you can almost think of a typical house that you then bury in the ground. These homes offer all kinds of benefits, including:
* Drastically reduced footprint on the wilderness: once your home is built, you can give back most or all of it to nature.
* Significant energy savings in both heating and cooling: subsurface temperatures are remarkably stable around 55F to 65F (13C to 18C) year-round, meaning that cold climates expend less energy to heat and hot climates expend less energy to cool. Additionally, these homes can use the soil they're buried in as added thermal mass for passive solar heating (more on that in a bit). Even with conventional HVAC systems, the claim is 80% reduction in energy needs thanks to the added insulation of several feet of earth. (Source 1 Source 2)
* Added security (in the form of reduced surface area for a potential burglar or vandal).
* Reduced maintenance costs: with fewer exterior walls, you have less re-painting to do; also, you don't have to worry about roof repairs or even cleaning the leaves out of your gutters!
* Storm proof: Tornadoes and hurricanes literally blow right over your roof, leaving your home intact! (Note: Actually storm-resistant, with the degree varying by design.)
* Termite proof: Since a typical earth-sheltered home is made with a concrete shell and uses metal studs for interior walls, there's significantly less wood to attract termites, and no real structural damage if you do manage to get infested.
* Bug and allergen resistant: You have drastically reduced surface area for bugs or allergens to enter your home, meaning you will have fewer of them.
* Fire resistant: Again, concrete and steel, neither of which burn. Add in fire-resistant dry wall, and even if a fire does break out it will be much easier to contain and the building's superstructure will remain intact and structurally sound.
Okay, let's return to that passive solar heating thing. The concept is trivial: The sun enters your home through windows and warms it. Add in some decent in-house ventilation, and even the shaded rooms (such as those on the north side of your home) benefit from the warmth, while those directly receiving the sunlight don't get too hot. Houses designed for passive solar heating incorporate an additional concept: Thermal mass. This is just what it sounds like: Mass that absorbs the heat collected by your house, then later (i.e. at night) releases it back into your house to keep you warm until the sun rises again in the morning.
The one limitation to this design is that long, cold, dark winters are, well, long, cold, and dark -- and you have to turn on your natural gas furnace or fire up your wood stove.
Enter PAHS: Passive Annual Heat Storage. Only possible with well-insulated earth-sheltered homes, this method takes advantage of the huge volume of soil surrounding your home to dramatically increase the amount of thermal mass at your disposal. By adding in "earth tubes" that operate on convective heat flow, this technique utilizes more of the soil for thermal mass while simultaneously providing passive ventilation for heat transfer and moisture control. The result is that excess heat gathered during the summers can be stored and then released during the winter -- providing passive solar heating all year round!! The claim is that this is viable in all climates, and the above-linked site mentions one location in western Montana that stays above 66F/19C year-round solely on PAHS, however I have my doubts that it would be quite that effective in Alaska (although I do not doubt that it would lower my heating bills!).
Design possibilities are nearly endless with these homes. Google for "earth-sheltered homes" and you'll seen thousands of them. Here are a few that I like:
A beautiful home that just happens to be buried.
This site has 4 different ones, after you scroll past the 3 treehouses (although those are neat...).
Here's a family that took "cave dwelling" literally (the story is actually a sad one about them selling their home because they can't refinance and can't afford to keep paying their current mortgage).
This site documents the 1979 construction of an earth-sheltered home, and the 2009 roof repair and addition of new skylights.
And finally, this site photo-documents the two-year construction of one couple's earth-sheltered home in 2006-2008 (although at the site's last update, the interior still wasn't finished).
Later, Man made Tents out of the hides of his kills.
Then, Man built Huts out of sticks and mud.
And then, Man built Houses from fallen trees.
Today, Man faces a looming crisis: We are destroying too much wilderness to house ourselves to remain sustainable. We are expending too much energy to heat/cool our living spaces.
We must change the way in which we live in order to prevent a catastrophe. We must return to the caves from whence we came.
Ugh. Wait wait wait. Look at that. Can you imagine how dark, cramped, and claustrophobic that place would be to live in? I mean, it's got only 2 tiny little windows!! That just won't do!
Let's try this again.
Ah, that's better! All the creature comforts we've become accustomed to, in a home whose footprint is a tiny fraction of what a similar-sized "standard" home would be. This image shows a large manicured lawn, but you could easily allow most of that -- even your roof!! -- to be reclaimed by wild growth!
This, my friends, is an earth-sheltered home. At it's most basic level, this is a home with soil piled up around and on top of it - you can almost think of a typical house that you then bury in the ground. These homes offer all kinds of benefits, including:
* Drastically reduced footprint on the wilderness: once your home is built, you can give back most or all of it to nature.
* Significant energy savings in both heating and cooling: subsurface temperatures are remarkably stable around 55F to 65F (13C to 18C) year-round, meaning that cold climates expend less energy to heat and hot climates expend less energy to cool. Additionally, these homes can use the soil they're buried in as added thermal mass for passive solar heating (more on that in a bit). Even with conventional HVAC systems, the claim is 80% reduction in energy needs thanks to the added insulation of several feet of earth. (Source 1 Source 2)
* Added security (in the form of reduced surface area for a potential burglar or vandal).
* Reduced maintenance costs: with fewer exterior walls, you have less re-painting to do; also, you don't have to worry about roof repairs or even cleaning the leaves out of your gutters!
* Storm proof: Tornadoes and hurricanes literally blow right over your roof, leaving your home intact! (Note: Actually storm-resistant, with the degree varying by design.)
* Termite proof: Since a typical earth-sheltered home is made with a concrete shell and uses metal studs for interior walls, there's significantly less wood to attract termites, and no real structural damage if you do manage to get infested.
* Bug and allergen resistant: You have drastically reduced surface area for bugs or allergens to enter your home, meaning you will have fewer of them.
* Fire resistant: Again, concrete and steel, neither of which burn. Add in fire-resistant dry wall, and even if a fire does break out it will be much easier to contain and the building's superstructure will remain intact and structurally sound.
Okay, let's return to that passive solar heating thing. The concept is trivial: The sun enters your home through windows and warms it. Add in some decent in-house ventilation, and even the shaded rooms (such as those on the north side of your home) benefit from the warmth, while those directly receiving the sunlight don't get too hot. Houses designed for passive solar heating incorporate an additional concept: Thermal mass. This is just what it sounds like: Mass that absorbs the heat collected by your house, then later (i.e. at night) releases it back into your house to keep you warm until the sun rises again in the morning.The one limitation to this design is that long, cold, dark winters are, well, long, cold, and dark -- and you have to turn on your natural gas furnace or fire up your wood stove.
Enter PAHS: Passive Annual Heat Storage. Only possible with well-insulated earth-sheltered homes, this method takes advantage of the huge volume of soil surrounding your home to dramatically increase the amount of thermal mass at your disposal. By adding in "earth tubes" that operate on convective heat flow, this technique utilizes more of the soil for thermal mass while simultaneously providing passive ventilation for heat transfer and moisture control. The result is that excess heat gathered during the summers can be stored and then released during the winter -- providing passive solar heating all year round!! The claim is that this is viable in all climates, and the above-linked site mentions one location in western Montana that stays above 66F/19C year-round solely on PAHS, however I have my doubts that it would be quite that effective in Alaska (although I do not doubt that it would lower my heating bills!).
Design possibilities are nearly endless with these homes. Google for "earth-sheltered homes" and you'll seen thousands of them. Here are a few that I like:
A beautiful home that just happens to be buried.
This site has 4 different ones, after you scroll past the 3 treehouses (although those are neat...).
Here's a family that took "cave dwelling" literally (the story is actually a sad one about them selling their home because they can't refinance and can't afford to keep paying their current mortgage).
This site documents the 1979 construction of an earth-sheltered home, and the 2009 roof repair and addition of new skylights.
And finally, this site photo-documents the two-year construction of one couple's earth-sheltered home in 2006-2008 (although at the site's last update, the interior still wasn't finished).
The future of green architecture - Kromey