EARTH SHELTERED HOUSING Principles in Practice
EARTH SHELTERED HOUSING Principles in Practice MAX R. TERMAN Illustrations by Virleen Bailey rmmf VAN NOSTRAND REINHOLD COMPANY ~---- NEWYORK
Copyright 1985 by Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Inc. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 85-3189 Softcover reprint of the hardcover I st edition 1985 ISBN -13: 978-1-4684-6646-1 DOl: 10.1007/978-1-4684-6644-7 e-isbn-13: 978-1-4684-6644-7 All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means-graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems -without written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America Designed by Ernie Haim Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Inc. 135 West 50th Street New York, New York 10020 Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Limited Molly Millars Lane Wokingham, Berkshire RGll 2PY, England Van Nostrand Reinhold 480 La Trobe Street Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia Macmillan of Canada Division of Canada Publishing Corporation 164 Commander Boulevard Agincourt, Ontario M1S 3C7, Canada 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Terman, Max R., 1945- Earth sheltered housing. Bibliography: p. 194 Includes index. 1. Earth sheltered houses. TH4819.E27T47 1985 l. Title. 690'.8 85-3189
To my wife, Janet, and daughters, Katy and Kerry -may flowers, trees, birds, and other members of God's creation ever grace their world.
CONTENTS Preface ix 1. Energy, Ecology, and Housing 1 The Energy Situation 1 The Environmental Situation 6 Homes, Energy, and the Environment 9 2. An Adaptive Approach to Housing Options 16 Principles: The Housing Options 16 Principles: Earth Sheltered Housing 20 Experiences: Energy-Efficient Housing 30 Recommendations 36 3. Site Evaluation and Selection 38 Principles: Climatic Factors 38 Principles: Comfort Requirements 42 Principles: Site Selection 48 Principles: Site Modification 56 Experiences: Regional and Site Considerations 61 Recommendations 70 4. Designing the Earth Shelter 71 Principles: The Design Process 71 Principles: Design Responses to Climatic and Site Factors 79 Experiences: Design Evaluation and Planning 98 Recommendations 103
5. Building the Earth Sheltered House 105 Principles: Construction 105 Experiences 140 Recommendations 144 6. Living in an Earth Shelter 145 Principles 145 Experiences 154 Recommendations 157 Appendices 158 A. Energy Performance 158 B. Professional Help 166 C. Award-Winning Earth Shelter Designs 171 D. Predicting Costs for Earth Sheltered Homes 184 Glossary 187 Bibliography 194 Index 203
PREFACE One of our most important objectives as humans is to discover and pass on ways of living with our environment. Every form of life, including human, depends on nature's ability to produce clean air, pure water and fertile soil and to recycle wastes. It is our duty to live in a manner that enhances and preserves these natural processes. Earth sheltering-the use of earth cover to moderate and improve living conditions in buildings-is an old but recently rediscovered technique. It holds much promise for allowing us to use less energy and preserve more space for natural and human needs. It also gives the individual and society alike a real way to achieve self-reliance and independence from limited sources of fossil fuels. An immediate need exists for information from a scientific yet practical perspective to fill the technical and philosophical gap between the scientific literature of earth sheltering and the popular writings of magazines and newspapers. So much of the scientific literature is theoretical and untried while the popular press has tended to be overly optimistic and uncritical. Basic questions need to be asked and actual experiences analyzed in order to arrive at some useful recommendations. In this book I have attempted to answer questions that architects, engineers, builders, contractors, and potential owners would ask. I have provided basic principles from scientific journals and books and summarized the experiences of people actually living in earth shelters. In the growth and development of any field of knowledge, there comes a time when theory requires testing, when concepts need to be refined in the light of experience. Such is the case with earth sheltering. A good foundation of principles has been laid, mostly through the excellent efforts of such organizations as the Underground Space Center of the University of Minnesota, the School of Architecture at Oklahoma State University, and the many design professionals active in earth sheltering. These principles are being put into practice by a small group of homeowners who are coming to understand both the positive and negative aspects of living in an earth sheltered home. We learn from their experiences, and because I have gone through this process, I also include information from my own experience to which many potential owners should be able to relate. Most of the book is focused on the standard, elevational-type, earth-covered house, which has proved to be the most popular and energy efficient for cold and temperate climates. However, other designs are considered and the pros and cons analyzed. The appendices supply information on the actual performance of my IX
x PREFACE own earth sheltered home, a list of professionals involved in earth sheltering, examples of award-winning designs, and a valuable accounting of actual and expected costs. This book is not a step-by-step recipe for building an earth shelter but rather a source of information that will help interested people to avoid making major mistakes. The need for professional involvement is assumed, and information for choosing personnel is frequently provided. I hope that this book will be an impetus for producing more principles and experiences in earth sheltering. Only when people involved in earth sheltering record their ideas and experiences will the store of knowledge grow. I have encouraged an ecological and ethical perspective for earth sheltered research. The problems that we face in energy and environment are crises in perspective as much as they are of technology. Earth sheltering, as a passive and environmentally benign technology, visibly expresses this perspective. The home is the central focus of our lives. It is our single most expensive purchase and the one possession that states our views about ourselves and our world. So, although this book is about earth shelters, it is about more than just houses. Many thanks go to Tabor College, a singular institution with vision enough to provide its faculty with the time and resources to try to expand their horizons. I wish to acknowledge the help of Lon B. Simmons, an enthusiastic and knowledgeable professional in the field who not only has a feel for earth sheltering but for the underlying ecological and environmental realities. Simmons is credited with pioneering the use of post-tensioning in residential earth shelters and introduced me to the principle. He was invaluable in transforming my ideas into actual blueprints, construction details, and eventually, the reality of our home. Thanks also go to Terry Clark of Traverse City, Michigan who shared many ideas with me and to John Hatzung of Berg and Associates of Plymouth, Minnesota, who provided drawings and sketches of some of their work. I also wish to thank the many builders, owners, and researchers of earth sheltered houses who so freely shared their knowledge and ideas with me. Special thanks go to Virleen Bailey, who selflessly devoted many hours to preparing the illustrations and editing the manuscript. I also wish to thank the editorial staff of Van Nostrand Reinhold, whose concern and care were evident throughout the preparation of this book.