interestingengineering.com
Houses Built Into Earth Might Be the Perfect Response to Global Warming
Houses built into the earth were all the rage during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Now, with global warming, they might be the ideal solution.
Social & Lifestyle
Drive around some areas of the United States and you may see houses whose roofs rise only a few feet above the surrounding ground. These are leftovers from the 1970s and 1980s craze for "earth homes".
With extreme weather battering all parts of the globe, now might be the time to bring earth homes back. One foot of soil has an R-value of anywhere from less than R 0.125 to R 0.25 per inch, depending on the soil composition, moisture content, etc. R-value is the capacity of an insulating material to resist heat flow. The higher the R-value, the greater the insulating power.
Depending on the season and time of day, the temperature at the earth's surface may vary considerably, while underground, temperatures are blunted. In winter, the temperature below the surface is higher than at the surface, and in summer, it is cooler. At a depth of 13 feet (4 m), the soil temperature becomes constant.
Throughout most of the U.S., the temperature 3 to 5 feet (1 - 1.5 m) down and below the frost line, is a nearly constant 45° - 50° F (7.2 - 10C) in northern latitudes, and in southern latitudes, it is 50° - 70° F (10 - 21C).
The constant temperature of the earth allows earth houses to have minimal heating and cooling, and this results in a drastic cut in energy costs when compared to typically-constructed homes. Another advantage of earth homes is that they provide protection against severe winds and storms which are increasingly more common due to global warming.
Earth homes offer increased protection from wildfires because they are primarily constructed from reinforced concrete. Earth homes also fare better during earthquakes because they are designed to move along with the earth. By placing the excavated dirt onto the roof of an earth house, the roof becomes a garden where residents can grow their own food.
In busy urban areas, earth homes offer increased privacy from neighbors and soundproofing, which can be very beneficial near busy highways.
History of earth houses
Humans have been living partly in the ground for millennia. By around 15,000 BC in Europe, some migratory hunters were building "round houses" that were partially sunk into the ground and covered with turf. Examples of this type of construction, which date to 5,000 years ago, can be found in Skara Brae in the Orkney Islands off the northern coast of Scotland.
In the southwestern U.S., homes built in Mesa Verde National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Colorado, took advantage of natural ledges and caves within the earth. Most native American tribes constructed earth-sheltered structures, called "earth lodges", and across the Great Plains, sod houses known as "soddies" were common.
In October 1973, the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries, which was led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo as punishment for nations who the organization felt had helped Israel during the Yom Kippur War of that year. The countries targeted were: Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, the UK, and the U.S., with the embargo later extended to include Portugal, Rhodesia, and South Africa.