Earth Sheltered House

Brian (Tankless)

Go to www.monolithicdome.com

Click site map. Find something like "buried domes".

I went to the school there in 1997-8, best $$ I ever spent.

One my classmates was a totally nutty, eccentric ex-vietnam helicopter pilot (still flies the more demanding flights). He built his Dome underground. Well, actually, he dug a hole in a hillside, built the dome, then back-filled it.

I'm certain it is cronicled at the site.

BTW, he is a very, very interesting guy.

P.S. for those concerned about the strength of Monolithic Domes, a tornado blew down an 18" dia power pole onto DJ's (owner's son) Dome, it just dented the outer foam, didn't even split the very strong outer skin. It virtually bounced off, I saw it.

While you're there, find "the r-value myth", this guy (David South) knows his stuff, I worked with him & his pro instructors for 5 days. Awsome stuff.

There is sure to be some up-dated info on durability since Katrina hit.

The site is huge, you might be there a while :O)

Take care, Brian.

Andy Bruce

Seeking Knowledge for Earth Sheltered HVAC

I am in the planning stages of my future home. The house will be located in Northwest Indiana. The home will be about 2600sf living space and garage covered with earth on the roof and 3 sides. The structure will be concrete. The flooring will be hard surface. Has any one designed or worked on a system for earth sheltered?

I am wanting to use passive solar heating. I intend to have a southerly open face with windows for winter solar heat gain (SHG) and a eave to mitigate the summer SHG.

I have read of houses that heat is not supplied by mechanical means. I don't know that will be possible in my lower solar btuh days of winter. Also I would like more regularity in the temperature.

I intend to use an ERV DOAS. Is it possible with the low heat load of this building to use a hydronic heating and cooling coil in the ERV for backup?

Also to better distribute the passive solar heat a hydronic radiant system could be used? Is this over kill? I think I want constant recirulation with the high thermal mass of concrete. The heating coil in the ERV could be piped as a loop to utilize the passive solar gain.

For the cooling is it plausible to run a loop of tubing underground to utilize the thermal capacity of the 55-60 deg earth? Use a heat exchanger to cool the hydronic radiant system (floor tubing and ERV coil)? Will this be enough cooling for my heat load? Will I need mechanical system for cooling? Will I need other means of dehumidifaction if the ERV cooling coil is enough?

I would like to use Solar for DHW and have the boiler work as backup. I am assuming the boiler would be back up for my radiant system. Natural gas is inexpensive in my area.

I have a lot of specific questions. I also realize that without a heat loss calculation we are only speaking in generalities. Any knowledge you can pass along is helpful. I understand the system will have to be engineered. I am presently looking for schematic design directions.

Thank you once again
andy

hr

First off

as you indicated, you will need a heat loss calc. Also a heat gain calc to size cooling and dehumidification. THEN you can start to look at options for heat sources and designs for controls, etc. Actual piping schematics will be simple to create of obtain once you settle in on some sizing info.

Passive solar is a two edged sword, it is very easy to get too much of a good thing. There may be times you need to shade, or possibly shed some excessive passive energy. that "handling " system should be included in the original design. There are plenty of designers that specialize in passive design and would come up with a plan to fit your jobsite and expectations. I thinking bout the building design first, thenthe mechanical systems to fit.

I think you are on to an excellent concept. Hire the folks that specialize in this type of design for a troublefree system. I've been in a number of passive solar homes over the years that were very uncomfortable on sunny days. All south glass and no control over it!

Check out the HDS design software. It has a basement specifc load program that would be ideal for the undergroung load calculation. It is a bit different than a framed, above ground, load calc.

Good luck and keep us updated as you collect more data.

hot rod

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

steve_100

There is a lot of good information about building and heating an earth sheltered house, and a forum where you can ask questions, at http://www.ourcoolhouse.com/

This web site details the design, construction and operation of a house that has a conventional roof, but is otherwise earth sheltered and designed for passive solar heating. The homeowner/designer is the web master. Heating is by a ground loop heat pump system that is thoroughly instrumented, and has real time temperature data displayed on the web