EARTH SHELTERED DESIGN

While on a road trip to Texas with my friend Steph, we went to Meramec Caverns. The tour guide said the constant temperature inside the cave (where I felt extremely comfortable if it weren't humid) was a constant 67 degrees all year round. So I asked him, 'dead of winter?' '67 degrees' 'height of summer?' '67 degrees'. Immediately visions of Bilbo Baggins and the home under the hill flashed into my mind and I when I got back, I spent a lot of time the following months researching earthen homes... something I was previously unaware of. But it made sense when I thought about it. My dad's basement was the most comfortable place to be in his house all year long and the heater and AC vents are closed... it's just a concrete basement insulated on 3 sides by soil. Now, you don't have to build the in ground home from concrete but for sake of generalization I am. There are other options like sand-filled tires and what not.

One thing I'd like to point out is that insurance is cheaper on Earth Shelters because they are storm proof, fire proof and termite proof. I won't be adding the insurance savings into the cost because it varies too much, not too mention your city codes may have an effect on the tax rate, but that's something to take into consideration as well. Also, maintenance is very low if any... for example if your water pipes bust, there's no risk of water damage to the concrete structure like there would be with a wood structure.

It's not all roses though, if you do require it because of something like structure settling... big money to repair that. Air flow is important with this kind of house because moisture can get trapped in an earth home, if you design it poorly, you'll have mushrooms growing in your closet because of stagnant, moist air. A couple of things to keep in mind.

Solutions: Earthen Insulation (Earth Berm Homes) is the equivalent of free temperature regulation. Most don't even need AC units attached to the homes, some don't even need heaters. So you save on installation of the AC and heater, the electric and gas bill for both and the cost of produced insulation.

Cost Savings Breakdown: Insulation $4,000 (averaged, cost of material and installation cost)

Central Air Conditioner $2,000 (averaged, item plus installation, not
including duct work)

Gas Furnace $3,500 (averaged, item plus installation, not including
duct work)

Cost of AC/Heater use $3,000 (averaged, one year of use)

Installation Cost Savings: $8,500
Yearly Cost Savings: $3,000

As a side note, here's a site for a gentleman who combined a few different technologies to make his home and he keeps good tabs on the information.