Earth Sheltered Houses

by Justin on May 2, 2005

in Architecture, Book Reviews


An Earth Sheltered HouseEarth sheltered houses make use of earth or “berms” for protection against the natural elements.

These homes can be complete underground homes, or homes which are protected by earth on just one side. The major advantage of this style of building is that the house has a constant and comfortable temperature throughout the year, so it is much less expensive to heat and cool. They are also much more resistant to weather and natural disasters. Here is a list of 25 advantages of earth sheltered houses.

An Earth Sheltered House

Malcolm Wells, the author of “The Earth-Shelted House”, runs a web site with a lot of information on underground building.

Read more! Related stories:

  1. The Hague To Warm 4,000 Houses With Geothermal
  2. 25 Houses Under 3000 Square Feet
  3. Metaefficient: Trombe Walls
  4. Enertia Homes: Wall Segments: Solid Wood: Efficient
  5. Using Natural Systems To Cool Down

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

Bryan-Mitchell Young May 2, 2005 at 11:05 pm

While I’m a fan of earth sheltered houses, I had to laugh at 24: Protection From Nuclear Fallout! I think they were kind of reaching to find a full 25 reasons!

Reply

Justin May 3, 2005 at 8:50 am

Yes, having a house that can withstand a nuclear fallout is not one of my priorities. Maybe they should have left it at 20 reasons.

Reply

sustainablog May 3, 2005 at 9:43 am

Earth Sheltered Houses

Metaefficient points us to The Earth Sheltered House: An Architect’s Sketchbook by Malcolm Wells, and also provides links to other resources. This is a subject particularly close to my heart,…

Reply

Pierre July 14, 2005 at 11:58 am

nature boy and girl

Earth Sheltered Houses

Reply

Leave a Comment