Featured Member:
Mark Tanner Construction Inc.
Gold Members:
Sons Development & Green Building Supplies
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Earth Sheltering
Earth has huge mass- because of its high density, it undergoes slow temperature changes and offers a fairly constant exterior temperature at a wall. When you build a structure into the earth utilizing the earth as your walls and floors, you find that with no extra heating or cooling, your home will maintain a year round temperature of 55-57 degrees fahrenheit. That is something to think about when the outside temperature is 20 below zero- inside with no heat, in an earth sheltered home, it will be 55 degrees.
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25 Reasons to Consider Earth Sheltered Living
Your home will have more natural lighting than a conventional home. If you feel that all earth sheltered homes are dark, damp and dreary, you have a real surprise coming.
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Earth House.com
The hub for information on Earth Sheltered news and updates. If your interest leans towards the underground, technical publications on alternative ideas, disaster ideas helping to prepare you for the world that's coming.
Earth House.com |
Earth Sheltered Housing
An earth sheltered house is quite simply a building that uses earth (dirt) to protect it from the outside elements. Fallout shelters built during the Cold War era are in fact earth sheltered houses, or buildings. The focus of this website is however a somewhat more optimistic application of earth sheltering, and that is as an aid to building more energy efficient dwellings for now and into the future.
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Earthship Biotecture
Earthship Biotecture, based in Taos, NM, USA is a global company offering proven, totally sustainable designs, construction drawings & details, products, educational materials, lectures / presentations, consultation & guidance toward getting people in sustainable housing.
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Earthship Landing Zone (Taos, NM)
Just west of the Taos Gorge Bridge is what I call the "Earthship Landing Zone." This is a subdivision composed only of earthships, a type of alternative housing that incorporates car tires packed with dirt into the construction of the outer walls. Most of the house is bermed into the ground with only the southern walls exposed, allowing for passive solar heating and light. It's a very effective method of building in a desert setting, as long as the car tires are suitably sealed and the home is properly vented (with this southern exposure they can get too hot if not vented properly).
Earthship Landing Zone (Taos, NM) |
Our Earthship
Earthship Basics:
An Earthship is a structure that is self-sufficient. It is a building that provides it's own heat, cooling, water, electricity and sewage treatment. In addition it is built with reused or otherwise environmentally sensitive materials, that are relatively cheap, readily available, and easy to use. Used automobile tires meet all of these criteria and make the basic building block for an Earthship.
It may sound crazy to build a house out of tires; but it's not as crazy as it may seem. Besides, the tires are just the beginning...
Our Story:
We set out to build one of these amazing structures and would like to share our experiences with you. It has been an incredible journey...
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Rocky Mountain Research Center - Earth Sheltered Homes (PAHS)
Passive Annual Heat Storage (PAHS) is a method of collecting heat in the summertime, by cooling the home naturally, storing it in the earth naturally, then returning that heat to the home in the winter. It includes extensive use of natural heat flow methods, and the arrangement of building materials to direct heat from where ever we get it to where ever we want it, all without using machinery to make it work. With the rising cost of energy, all home builders should get familiar with basic PAHS principles.
Rocky Mountain Research Center - Earth Sheltered Homes (PAHS) |
Undergrolund Architecture
There are many advantages to earth integrated architecture. With the earth as insulation, heating and cooling energy requirements are significantly reduced, especially in windy areas. Underground homes offer protection from storms, never have to be painted, shingled or have the eaves troughs cleaned out! Underground architecture is unobtrusive, leaving clear views, and can be covered with gardens and lawns.
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