US Green Living .com
An earth sheltered home is one of the best designs of a passive solar home. From the time man learned how to build things; he is already building homes with earth. It’s very practical during those times as it doesn’t require much wood. In most progressive countries, the idea of earth sheltered home is being used in order to capture and manipulate heat. Companies specializing in making your home more earth friendly have been established.
There are even those who are experience tax cuts in their country because of this type of construction.
There are three types of earth sheltered homes. The first type of earth sheltered home is the houses that experienced earth berming. This type of home is very practical to those that are already established. Earth is slowly pilled up against the walls of the home. Earth will be piled up in a sloped fashion. You’ll be practically building a small mountain with the earth. If you’re lawn is wide enough to accommodate the earth this is perfect. Next type is in-hill construction. This type of an earth sheltered home is built in a natural hill. One part of the wall will practically be the hill and the other will be walled. Lastly, are underground houses. Even though they are not used to be lived on, but it’s practically sealed and everything that you’re looking for in an earth sheltered home is there.
As the house is mostly made up of earth, it will be the naturally insulated to cold. This is perfect for North American homes as most of the time it needs insulation from cold. Once the earth house is built, the house will be practically airtight. The air that’s inside will be practically there for a very long time. But that doesn’t mean that you’ll be running out of air. Earth sheltered homes are also sound proof. You can practically have a party of your lifetime while the neighbors wouldn’t hear a thing.
The disadvantage of earth sheltered home though is the lack of air quality. In an earth shelter, air flow should be your number one concern. Ventilation should be able to answer the concern of an airtight room. It might cost you much even for ventilation but this will ensure that you have a good air quality. Water seepage is also another problem. Most of the time, as the world outside experiences rain, water is slowly stored in the earth. If you’re going to experience rain for three days straight, there’s a higher chance you’ll be able to see water coming in to your house. But that can be addressed when you have great pre-cast slabs and the ventilation ducks should be placed strategically with rain in mind (not a concern in desert climates that do not see much rain).
