Energy Consumption
No reasonable intelligent person can deny that the world is heading towards a turning point with regard to its relationship with the environment. One aspect of this issue is western society's current reliance on fossil fuels and, at current rates of consumption, their projected exhaustion sometime next century. A large proportion of the fossil fuels currently consumed go towards the production of electricity which is then used for many purposes, one of which is regulating the climate inside man-made dwellings.
The search for alternative energy sources is of paramount importance and must be pursued despite pressure from powerful groups (e.g. Coal Industry) with vested interests in the current system. However, regardless of how our electricity is produced we are still using it inefficiently in our buildings. This is largely due to energy inefficient building designs that demand heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. A good example of this are the glass walled sky-scrapers that are present in most major cities; they may look good but they are extremely susceptible to external fluctuations in temperature. Earth sheltering used in conjunction with passive solar design can cause a dramatic decrease in the temperature fluctuations inside a building and consequently dramatic effects on electricity consumption.
Noise Reduction
There are many advantages to living in an earth sheltered home, one of which is savings in energy use. Yet another is the reduction in noise from external sources inside the building. This leads to a more serene environment inside the stucture and makes it possible to build earth sheltered dwellings in places where conventional structures would be virtually unlivable e.g. next to major roads or in airline flight paths. As well as these extreme cases the use of earth sheltering will make nearly any building perceptibly quieter than its conventional neighbour, and the sound of said neighbour mowing his lawn at 7:00 am will be that much less irritating.
Aesthetics and Land use
One of the more common motivations for building an earth sheltered structure is to blend the building in with its natural surroundings. This is often the case on rural sites where the owner wishes to build a dwelling but also retain the 'untouched' beauty of the natural landscape. Although retaining the beauty of a suburban block is not often of much importance, once the earth shelter has been built the area of land available for growing plants is greatly increased over that of a block with a conventional building on it. e.g.
Land use comparision
This is only one example and there are innumerable different combinations of conventional vs. earth sheltered houses with differing amounts of available land area. However, in general, on the same block an earth sheltered house will leave more available land area than a conventional house (of the same size).
This double use of the land, house underneath, garden on top, means earth sheltered houses can be built on smaller blocks than conventional houses and still have sufficient space for outdoor living. This makes earth sheltered housing particulary useful for medium-density housing developments, an area of construction that will no doubt increase in the future as the world population grows and cities become larger and larger.
$$ Cost $$
If you're not particularly inclined to being 'green' then the previous advantages of earth sheltered housing may not appeal greatly to you. However one thing that everyone (almost) cares about, is money. I will tell you now that building an earth sheltered house can save you money. There are several reasons for this:
Reduced Energy Costs
This is the main area where cost is reduced in an earth sheltered house when compared with a conventional home. As mentioned earlier one of the key advantages to earth sheltering is a stabilisation of temperature inside the building. Because of this, depending on the climate and the design of the building, some earth shelters can be lived in perfectly comfortably all year without any need for heating or cooling. This may not apply in your particular case however it is certain that the amount of heating/cooling required in an earth sheltered building will be reduced. This obviously leads to a reduction in electricity costs.
Reduced Maintenance Costs
Because an earth sheltered house has a large proportion of its walls covered with dirt, they do not need to be painted or otherwise maintained. Earth sheltered houses are also usually built with concrete or masonry which tends to be less expensive to maintain than a house constructed with a wooden frame and plasterboard internal walls. e.g. termites, rot.
Safety
Something that is truly universally desired is personal safety. Earth sheltered houses, especially those entirely below ground level, offer increased protection from outside events in comparison to conventional homes. This is particularly relevant to people who live in places prone to either tornadoes or cyclones, other severe storms, bush fires, etc.
Earth sheltered houses, usually built with concrete or masonry, are much less likely to burn from the inside than a conventional home. Internal furnishings are likely to be combustible however and smoke alarms etc. should still be used. Even if the contents are entirely burnt there is still a good chance that the structure will remain intact and be safe to move back into.
©
1998-2001 Michael Ellerman.